THE  LIBRARY 

OF 
THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 


PRESENTED  BY 

PROF.  CHARLES  A.  KOFOID  AND 
MRS.  PRUDENCE  W.  KOFOID 


i  rom  the  ptage  Coach 

TO  THE  PULPIT.  < 


V 


FROM  THE  STAGE  COACH 


TO 


THE  PULPIT, 


BEING    AN    AUTO-BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH,  WITH  INCIDENTS 
AND  ANECDOTES,  OF 


ELDER   H.  K.  STIMSON, 


THE     VETERAN     PIONEER     OF     WESTERN     NEW    YORK, 
NOW  OF  KANSAS. 


EDITED  BY  REV.  T.  W.  GREENE, 

OF  KANSAS. 


SAINT  LOUIS: 

R.    A.    CAMPBELL,    PUBLISHER, 

S.  E.  Cor.  Fifth  and  Olive  Sts. 
1874. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress  in  the  year  1874,  by 

H.    K.    STIMSON, 
In  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington. 


ST.  LOUIS,  MO., 
BARNS  &  BEYNON, 

Printers  and  Stereotyperfl, 
215  Pine  Street. 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE. 

AUTHOR'S  PREFACE,       - 

EDITOR'S  PREFACE,   - 

INTRODUCTION,  - 

POETRY,    -  -  -  -  -         14 

CHAPTEK  I. 
BIRTH.  —  BOYHOOD,    -  -          -  17 

CHAPTER  II. 

RUNNING  AWAY  FROM  HOME.  —  STAGE  DRIVING  AND  STAGE 
DRIVERS,       -  -  27 

CHAPTER  III. 
RETURNING  HOME.—  FIRST  INTERVIEW  WITH  MY  FATHER,    40 

CHAPTER  IV. 
COURTSHIP  AND  MARRIAGE.  —  EARLY  MARRIED  LIFE,         64 

CHAPTER  V. 

A  TURNING  POINT.—  VICTORY  OVER  WHISKY.  —  A  SHOOT 
ING  MATCH,  ETC.,  -  65 

CHAPTER  VI. 
A  SEARCH  FOR  A  CHURCH,       -  -  -        86 

CHAPTER  VH. 

THE  CHURCH  FOUND,  -  92 


CHAPTER  Vm. 
A  YEAR  OF  JUBILEE,     -----        98 


M3179G6 


6  FROM   THE    STAGE    COACH   TO   THE   PULPIT. 

CHAPTER  IX. 
SHALL  I  PREACH? — FIRST  PASTORATE,      -  -  106 

CHAPTER  X. 
LEAVING  ALABAMA. — PARMA,    -  133 

CHAPTER  XI. 
A  TRIAL  OF  OPEN  COMMUNION,     -          -          -  162 

CHAPTER  XH. 

AN  OLD  SORE. — SECOND  WIDOWHOOD,  -  168 

CHAPTER  XIH. 
EVANGELIZING. — PASTORATE  AT  WARSAW,  -  174 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

WHEATLAND,       -  -          -       188 

CHAPTER  XV. 

ADRIAN,         -  ...  203 

CHAPTER  XVI. 
PENN  YAN,  -      212 

CHAPTER  XVH. 
MARION,         -  -  227 

CHAPTER  XVIH. 
RACINE,    -  -       236 

CHAPTER  XIX. 
RE-SETTLEMENT  AT  WARSAW,  -  -  240 

CHAPTER  XX. 

LA  GRANGE.— THE  WAR,  ...       242 

CHAPTER  XXI. 
Ho  FOR  KANSAS,       -----  279 


CONTENTS.  • 

CHAPTEE  XXTT. 
A  KANSAS  FIELD,  -  ...       287 

CHAPTER  XXTTT. 
CLOSING  THE  WAR  IN  MISSOURI,    ...  295 

CHAPTER  XXIV. 

"OTTAWA  UNIVERSITY"  AND  LEAVENWORTH,  -       808 

CHAPTER  XXV. 
THE  BAPTIST  TABERNACLE,  ...  322 

CHAPTER  XXVI. 

KlNDERHOOK. — WHEATLAND,       -  -  -  329 

CHAPTER  XXVH. 

BURLINGTON,  KANSAS,          -  835 

CHAPTER  XXVTU. 
OLD  MEMORIES,  -  841 

CHAPTER  XXTX. 
ELDER  WEAVER,       -  ,  -  -  848 

CHAPTER  XXX. 
REFLECTIONS. — HOME  AGAIN,   -  853 

CHAPTER  XXXI. 

MISCELLANY,  -  -  864 

CHAPTER  XXXTT. 
SERMONS,  -  888 

CHAPTER  XXXTTT. 
A  NIGHT  WITH  THE  RACKENSACKS  AND  PUKES,        -       416 

CONCLUSION. 
PERSONAL  SKETCH  BY  THE  EDITOR,          -          -  424 


THE  AUTHOR'S  PREFACE. 


IN  PRESENTING  this  volume  to  the  Christian  Public  and 
"the  rest  of  mankind,"  I  know  that  I  am  liable  to  severe 
criticism,  to  which  I  do  not  object  if  it  is  made  in  kind 
ness.  Such  has  always  done  me  good. 

I  have  had  a  maxim  through  life,  I  once  invented  in  self- 
defense,  that  a  man  that  can't  spell  a  word  but  one  way,  is 
a  literary  fool.  For  the  practical  illustration  my  manuscript 
affords  that  I  am  not  a  fool  in  this  sense,  if  it  appears  on  the 
printed  page,  you  can  blame  the  editor,  Rev.  T.  W.  GREENE. 

I  make  no  claim  to  originality,  except  in  memory.  This 
I  have  endeavored  to  use  to  the  best  advantage  in  applying 
other  men's  thoughts  and  principles.  I  believe  in  the  largest 
liberty  to  all  men  in  advocating  their  views  and  sentiments, 
if  not  dogmatic  and  superstitious.  I  advocate  a  liberal  edu 
cation,  a  liberal  contribution  to  all  benevolent  institutions, 
and  large  donations  to  ministers. 

I  have  no  great  enemies,  except  the  devil.  All  others  are 
of  small  calibre  and  not  worth  a  notice.  I  love  all  mankind, 
and  good  horses.  For  the  rest  of  the  world  I  care  but  little, 
as  I  am  nearly  through  it. 

I  wish  you  to  buy  the  book,  pay  for  it  and  read  it.  Then 
you  will  have  a  consciousness  of  two  things :  first,  you  own  a 
book  and  are  independent.  Second,  you  are  helping  an  old 
man  and  woman  to  a  little  support  in  the  evening  of  life. 

May  God  bless  you. 

H.  K.  S. 

BURLINGTON,  Kansas,  1'874. 


THE  EDITOR'S  PREFACE. 


I  BELIEVE  in  preaching  and  like  to  preach.  I  also  believe 
in  writing  and  like  to  write,  especially  when  helping  to 
increase  the  acquaintance  of  the  world  with  so  genuine  a 
man,  and  one  so  wide-awake  for  CHRIST,  evenin  the  even 
ing  years  of  life,  as  FATHER  STIMSON. 

I  have  enjoyed  the  work  of  preparing  the  manuscript  of 
this  book  for  the  press.  As  Dr.  BUSHNELL  would  say,  it 
has  been  play  for  me.  It  was  nearly  done  before  I  knew  it. 
Only  a  few  weeks  of  an  exceedingly  hot  season  have  been 
spent  by  FATHER  STIMSON  in  preparing  the  pencil  notes  good 
and  ample,  and  by  myself  in  making  them  comply  with  the 
exactions  of  the  printer,  and  a  little  more  fully  represent  the 
Author ;  and  that,  too,  in  the  midst  of  uninterrupted  pastoral 
work  on  the  part  of  both. 

My  only  wish  is  that  the  book  may  be  read  by  many 
during  his  life  here  and  after  he  has  entered  on  the  better 
life,  and  with  the  same  relish  with  which  the  labor  of  pre 
paring  it  has  been  accomplished.  Then  I  shall  be  sure  it 
will  do  more  good  than  we  both  could  have  done  in  the 
same  time  in  any  other  way. 

T.  W.  G. 

JUNCTION  CITY,  Kansas. 


INTRODUCTION. 

It  was  in  the  winter  of  1843,  I  first  saw  Kev.  H.  K. 
STDISON.  It  was  in  my  native  town  in  Western  New  York, 
and  at  an  age  when  my  mind  was  very  easily  impressed  by 
the  presence  of  men  of  mark.  The  occasion  was  the  meeting 
of  an  Ecclesiastical  Council,  which  excited  great  interest  in 
that  community.  Mr.  STIMSON  was  a  delegate  from  a 
neighboring  church.  He  was  then  a  young  man,  full  of 
point,  soul  and  magnetism,  which  years  have  not  lessened. 
Because  of  his  brilliancy,  piquancy  and  quaintness,  all  eyes 
admiringly  centered  upon  him  when  he  spoke.  To  my 
youthful  mind,  he  was  the  chief  attraction  of  the  Council. 
I  have  ever  remembered  him  as  I  saw  and  heard  him  there. 
He  then  told  a  certain  story,  with  such  inimitable  skill  and 
dramatic  power — a  story  having  a  patness  and  application 
so  hitting  and  ludicrous — that  I  can  never  forget  it  or  its 
author.  Who  might  this  curious  and  strangely  potent  man 
be?  I  wondered.  It  came  out  that  he  was  a  converted  stage- 
driver,  of  Irish  descent,  and  the  wittiest  minister  in  the 
Genesee  country. 

From  that  day  to  this  I  have  known  H.  K.  STIMSON,  and 
from  the  time  I  went  into  the  ministry  he  has  known  me,  I 
think ;  and  if  he  has  not  loved  me,  I  have  had  the  sweet 
retaliation  of  loving  him.  For  more  than  thirty  years  in 
Western  New  York,  he  held  a  prominent  place  as  a  preacher 
and  pastor.  No  man  in  that  region  stood  higher  as  a 


12         FROM    THE    STAGE    COACH    TO    THE    PULPIT. 

faithful,  able  and  useful  minister  of  the  Gospel  than  he. 
This  is  saying  much,  for  he  was  associated  with  such 
men  as  Elon  Galusha,  Elisha  Tucker,  Pharcellus  Church, 
James  Reed,  Ichabod  Clark,  William  Arthur,  Charles 
Van  Loon,  Daniel  Eldridge,  the  Elliots,  Harrison  Daniels  and 
"Walter  Brooks.  In  the  learning  of  the  schools,  Mr. 
STIMSON  never  professed  to  be  a  proficient,  but  the 
Gospel  and  men  he  knows  by  heart.  Wit,  tact,  knowledge 
of  human  nature  and  ready  ability  to  use  current  events, 
superadded  to  a  great  and  good  heart,  and  to  a  naturally 
strong  and  withy  intellect,  all  consecrated  to  God,  have 
made  him  a  most  popular,  devoted  and  efficient  minister 
of  Christ  for  forty-five  years. 

His  auto-biography  is  a  book  over  which  readers  will 
both  laugh  and  cry.  No  person  who  has  ever  known  this 
remarkable  man  will  fail  to  be  interested  in  the  work,  and  in 
it  thousands  of  others,  in  all  Christian  denominations,  will 
find  entertainment  and  profit.  In  wit  and  drollery,  this 
book  is  keener  than  the  works  of  professional  humorists,  in 
its  serious  portions  and  theological  utterances,  it  is  as  sound 
as  Jonathan  Edwards;  and  in  its  touching  passages  and 
pictures,  it  is  as  tender  as  anything  which  Pay  son  or 
McChene  ever  wrote. 

As  the  subject  of  this  taking  volume  is  a  welcome  guest 
in  all  denominations  and  circles,  because  he  is  a  Christian,  a 
gentleman,  a  genial  companion,  a  helpful  minister  and  a 
man  of  the  soundest  common  sense,  so  his  auto-biography 
will  be  welcomed  by  all  classes,  professions  and  ages. 
The  book  is  the  man  in  portraiture,  and  this  is  its  highest 
commendation.  Mr.  STIMSON  is  now  well  on  in  life,  but  is 


INTRODUCTION.  13 

as  vivacious,  as  social,  as  generous  and  as  companionable 
as  ever;  and  the  book  is  just  like  him.  When  he  leaves 
your  house,  wife,  husband  and  all  the  children  say,  "  come 
again."  A  book  picturing  such  a  character  and  life  as  his, 
so  full  of  telling  incidents,  of  rich  personal  history,  of  hits, 
of  genius,  of  talent,  of  eloquence,  of  pathos,  of  piety,  of 
good  sense,  must  be  remarkable,  a  priori.  Upon  examina 
tion,  the  work  proves  itself  the  satisfactory  fulfillment  of  the 
prophecy  which  such  a  character  utters. 

The  Editor,  Rev.  Mr.  GREENE,  his  neighbor  in  Kansas, 
where  Mr.  STIMSON  has  lived  for  the  last  few  years,  has  done 
his  work  so  well,  as  to  richly  deserve  the  thanks  of  the 
thousands  the  land  over  who  know  and  love  the  "  Converted 
Stage-Driver,"  and  who  pray  that  the  evening  of  his  life  may 
be  as  sunny  as  its  noon ;  and  that,  as  from  the  stage  coach 
Christ  transferred  him  to  the  pulpit,  so  from  the  pulpit, 
though  not  for  many  years,  He  may  transfer  him  to  Himself 
in  glory,  not  only  to  be  forever  with  his  Lord,  but  with  the 
great  multitude  brought  to  Jesus  by  his  labors. 

A.  H.  BUBLINGHAM. 

ST.  Louis,  January,  1874. 


FAREWELL  TO  THE  COACH. 


Farewell  to  the  Coach  that  has  carried  us  long 
Through  sunshine  and  storm  with  wheels  rolling  fast; 

A  kindly  farewell  in  a  brief,  simple  song, 
And  a  smile  and  a  tear  for  its  far  away  past. 

A  smile  for  the  memories  pleasant  and  pure, 
A  tear  for  whatever  unhallowed  was  there; 

Let  the  first  with  all  that  is  precious  endure, 
And  the  last  be  forgotten  in  praise  and  in  prayer. 

How  strong  was  your  frame  and  capacious  each  seat, 
Old  Coach,  as  you  rolled  on  your  track  every  day; 

And  how  many  good  friends  we  then  used  to  greet, 
As  they  climbed  into  you,  and  we  sped  on  our  way. 

How  waited  and  watched  for  then  was  our  load! 

How  welcome  the  letters  we  bore  up  and  down! 
How  gaily  our  horses  stepped  out  on  the  road, 

Or  dashed  up  the  street  full  speed  into  town! 

Now  better  enjoyment  we  thankfully  find, 
For  our  last  whip  and  bottle  were  cracked  long  ago; 

Though  to  crack  a  good  joke  we  still  feel  inclined, 
And  we  bear  other  news  as  we  go  to  and  fro. 

Good  tidings,  great  blessings  we  gladly  proclaim, 
Christ's  life  and  His  death,  the  epistles  of  Paul; 

To  those  who  will  weep  o'er  His  sorrow  and  shame, 
And  rejoice  in  the  news  that  can  ransom  us  all. 

We  still  hope  to  carry  full  many  a  soul 
From  evil  to  good,  from  sin  to  salvation; 

For  the  chariot  wheels  of  the  Gospel  must  roll 
Until  the  grand  story  is  told  to  each  nation. 


CHAPTER  I. 

BIRTH   AND   BOYHOOD. 

~F  WAS  born  —  so  I  have  been  told — at  Saratoga 
JL  Springs,  October  llth,  1804.  My  parents  were 
of  Irish  extraction,  having  descended  from  an  ancient 
stock  in  the  North  of  Ireland.  All  I  know  of  their 
religious  opinions  is  that  they  were  of  Presbyterian 
proclivities,  and,  like  most  other  adherents  of  the 
Scotch  "Kirk,"  strongly  prejudiced  against  all  other 
denominations,  especially  Roman  Catholics,  and  no 
less,  the  Baptists.  This  prejudice  my  father  never 
overcame.  My  mother  finally  became  more  tolerant, 
but  it  was  not  until  the  Baptists  had  become  quite 
numerous  in  Western  New  York  that  any  of  my  fam 
ily  were  immersed. 

My  father,  who  was  a  draper  and  tailor  at  Saratoga 
Springs,  moved  from  there  to  what  was  then  called 
the  "Genesee  Country,"  in  the  winter  of  1811-12. 
Our  family  at  this  time  consisted  of  my  parents  and 
their  three  children,  I  being  seven  years  of  age  and  the 
oldest  of  my  mother's  children.  At  this  time  nearly 
all  west  of  Canandaigua  was  one  vast  wilderness,  and 


18        FROM    THE    STAGE    COACH    TO    THE    PULPIT. 

I  well  remember  the  contrast  between  our  pleasant 
home  at  the  Springs  and  the  rude  log  hut  in  the  dense 
forest  in  the  "town"  of  Mendon.  With  the  excep 
tion  of  an  occasional  visit  to  my  uncle  John  Stimson, 
who  lived  four  miles  distant,  I  was  constantly  in  the 
house  Avith  my  mother,  or  with  my  father  in  the 
woods  where  he  was  "clearing."  To  one  thus  situ 
ated,  any  event  which  would  enable  him  to  see  a  com 
pany  of  men  gathered  together,  was  indeed  hailed 
with  joy.  Such  an  event  was  the  first  town  meet 
ing  of  the  "town"  of  Mendon,  held  at  Deacon  Eli 
Ewer's  in  the  spring  of  1812.  During  the  pre 
vious  winter  the  "town"  of  Bloomfield  had  been  di 
vided  into  four  "towns,"  one  of  which  was  Mendon. 
It  was  therefore  necessary  to  have  a  "  town  meeting" 
there,  which  was  called  at  the  house  of  Eli  Ewer,  a 
deacon  of  the  Presbyterian  Church.  I  remember 
feeling  quite  elated  when  I  started  with  my  father  to 
attend  the  meeting.  I  anticipated  a  good  time,  and 
it  seemed  as  though  all  there  determined  that  my  an 
ticipations  should  be  fulfilled.  The  deacon  had  the 
day  previous  obtained  a  license  to  keep  a  public 
house,  and  had  laid  in  a  good  supply  of  rye  whisky. 
He  also  served  up  to  his  guests  a  dinner  consisting 
of  baked  pork  and  beans  ;  a  dish  that  may  have  been 


BIRTH   AND   BOYHOOD.  19 

heard  of  still  further  east.  Although  a  plain  repast, 
and  needing  but  little  table  furniture,  his  supply  was 
found  totally  inadequate  to  the  demand.  His  plates 
were  of  brown  earthen-ware  and  wooden  trenchers. 
For  forks  there  were  short  sticks  tipped  with  prongs 
of  wire,  the  other  part  of  the  cutlery  being  supplied 
with  pieces  of  scythe  points  and  jack-knives.  Dur 
ing  the  dinner  hour  everything  was  in  confusion  and 
noise,  but  the  utmost  good  feeling  prevailed.  After 
dinner,  games,  business  and  drinking  occupied  the 
time  till  sundown,  when  the  majority  started  for 
home,  many  very  much  intoxicated;  for  men  got 
drunk  even  in  the  good  old  times.  A  few  of  them 
were  beastly  drunk.  The  beasts  will  please  excuse 
me.  There  is  one  consolation,  however,  the  whisky 
they  drank  was  pure.  But  pure  as  it  was,  it  operated 
badly  on  the  deacon's  windows,  doors  and  premises 
generally.  It  had  a  very  dilapidating  effect  upon 
them.  The  next  day  Deacon  Ewer  gave  up  his  li 
cense  and  quit  the  rather  expensive  business  of  sell 
ing  whisky. 

In  the  spring  of  1814,  my  father  moved  from  his 
place  in  the  woods  to  a  public  house  on  the  road 
leading  from  Irondequoit  Bay  to  Lima,  where  he 
kept  tavern  for  the  next  four  years.  This  was  then 


20        FKOM    THE    STAGE    COACH   TO    THE    PULPIT. 

the  great  Western  thoroughfare,  Buffalo  being  the 
"  far  West."  While  residing  here  there  was  no 
school  which  I  could  attend,  and  I  was  compelled 
to  spend  my  time  around  the  bar-room,  where  I  was 
educated  to  all  the  vice  and  folly  attendant  upon 
such  a  place,  but  making  no  advancement  in  intellect 
and  certainly  none  in  moral  education. 

In  the  fall  of  1818,1  left  home  and  worked  at 
another  tavern  for  my  board,  while  I  attended  school 
for  the  first  time  since  I  was  a  child.  In  the  spring 
of  this  year  I  had  my  first  religious  impressions,  and 
well  do  I  remember  the  occasion.  A  young  com 
panion  of  mine,  Napoleon  B.  Stickney,  and  myself, 
attended  a  prayer  meeting,  conducted  by  the  Kev. 
John  Taylor,  of  the  Congregational  Church, 
and  Deacon  Eli  Lyon,  of  the  Baptist  Church. 
Stickney  and  myself,  both  vain  and  wicked  youths, 
had  gone  there  out  of  mere  curiosity.  During  the 
evening,  Deacon  Lyon  gave  a  short  but  very  im 
pressive  history  of  his  experience  and  conversion, 
which,  for  the  time,  made  a  deep  impression  on  my 
mind.  Stickney  was  also  much  affected,  and,  on 
our  way  home,  he  said  to  me,  "  Hiram,  I  am  a  great 
sinner,  and  I  feel  as  though  it  was  my  duty  to  quit 
the  evil  practices  of  Sabbath  breaking,  profane 


BIRTH   AND   BOYHOOD.  21 

swearing  and  card  playing."  I  at  once  told  him  of 
my  own  convictions,  of  my  guilt  as  a  sinner,  and 
invited  "  Boney,"  as  we  called  him,  to  stay  with  me 
at  the  tavern  that  night.  He  accepted  my  invitation, 
and  we  started  for  my  room.  The  family  had  all 
retired,  and  the  house  was  still  when  we  reached  it. 
We  sat  down  in  the  bar-room  where  we  had  so  often 
joked  and  made  merry,  but  this  time  to  talk  over 
our  deplorable  condition  as  sinning  against  our  God 
and  Saviour.  We  had  talked  but  a  short  time  when 
"  Boney"  said,  "  Hiram,  you  go  and  get  the  Bible 
and  we  will  read  it."  I  stole  away  into  the  room 
where  I  knew  the  Bible  was  kept,  a  useless  book  to 
all  the  family.  I  brought  it  and  gave  it  to  "  Boney." 
He  opened  at  the  fifty-fifth  chapter  of  Isaiah,  and 
commenced  reading.  When  he  closed  the  book  he 
looked  at  me  with  a  strange  stare  and  said,  "  Hiram, 
pray."  And  there  we  both  knelt  on  the  floor  of  the 
dirty  bar-room,  filled  with  the  fumes  of  whisky  and 
the  odor  of  burnt  tobacco,  and  prayed  in  broken 
sentences  and  homely  expressions,  but  with  earnest 
ness.  What  I  said  I  know  not.  But  after  rising 
we  mutually  promised  to  reform  and  lead  a  better 
life.  But  how  vain  are  most  of  our  promises  of 
reformation.  The  very  next  Sabbath,  Stickney  and 


22    FROM  THE  STAGE  COACH  TO  THE  PULPIT. 

I  went  fishing  all  day.  Thus  may  be  seen  how  little 
dependence  is  to  be  placed  upon  resolutions  of  a 
better  life  when  God  is  not  really  loved,  and  when 
our  dependence  upon  Him  is  not  realized  and 
acknowledged  with  that  acknowledgment  that  comes 
from  renewed  hearts. 

From  this  time  till  I  was  eighteen  I  worked  at 
the  tavern,  going  to  school  three  months  each  winter, 
pursuing  only  such  branches  as  were  then  taught, 
imperfectly  taught,  and  as  imperfectly  received  and 
applied.  So  that  when  at  this  age  the  importance  of 
an  education  first  impressed  itself  upon  my  mind 
and  I  received  my  advancement,  I  found  I  could 
only  read  and  write,  knowing  nothing  or  nearly 
nothing  of  arithmetic  and  geography.  As  I  thought 
over  these  things,  and  as  the  value  of  an  education 
arose  before  my  mental  vision,  I  was  compelled  to 
look  about  with  a  determination  to  lay  hold  of  any 
possible  chance  that  would  allow  me  to  pursue  a 
course  of  study.  But  all  was  dark,  dreary  and  dis 
couraging.  My  parents  were  now  too  poor  to  help 
me.  There  were  no  good  schools  in  that  part  of  the 
country  that  I  could  attend,  even  by  "  choring"  for 
my  board.  And  with  no  means  nor  any  way  of 
obtaining  them  to  pay  my  expenses  away  from  home, 


BIRTH  AND  BOYHOOD.  23 

and  no  kind  friend  to  extend  a  benevolent  hand  or 
speak  an  encouraging  word  by  way  of  relief,  I 
settled  down  into  the  belief  that  there  is  such  a 
thing  as  toiling  for  knowledge  under  difficulties,  and 
that  there  are  some  lighter  amusements  than  working 
one's  way  through  school.  With  these  facts  dogging 
my  heels,  I  saw  that  my  hopes  of  obtaining  an  edu 
cation  at  that  time  were  vain.  I  soon  dismissed  the 
idea  of  enjoying  the  advantages  of  attending  school 
where  I  was,  and  as  to  going  East  to  attend  one, 
that  could  only  be  done  by  the  sons  of  the  wealthy. 
This,  in  connection  with  my  father's  somewhat 
intemperate  habits,  led  me  to  the  conclusion  that  I 
must  make  the  best  of  my  poor  condition  in  life,  and 
so  I  set  myself  to  the  work  of  whiling  away  my 
youth  in  ignorance  and  vice. 

Some  time  previous  to  this  my  father  had  given  up 
the  tavern  and  opened  a  small  whisky  grocery,  ob 
taining  his  stock  of  one  S ,  who  kept  a  hotel  and 

store  in  the  village  of  East  Mendon.  After  continu 
ing  this  grocery  a  little  time,  my  father  found  him 
self  indebted  to  S ,  to  the  amount  of  eighty  dol 
lars,  with  no  way  to  pay  it.  To  settle  the  matter, 

S proposed  that  I  should  come  and  work  it  out 

at  his  hotel.     A  formal  contract  was  at  once  drawn 


24        FROM   THE    STAGE    COACH   TO    THE    PULPIT. 

up,  but  I  was  to  be  kept  iu  ignorance  of  the  fact  that 
I  was  working  to  pay  for  a  "  dead  horse,"  or,  what 
was  in  fact  much  worse,  for  whisky  long  since  swal 
lowed.  S came  to  me  and  said,  "Hi,  I  want 

you  to  work  for  me  a  year  tending  bar,  and  now  and 
then  driving  those  black  horses  of  mine,  which  I  am 
fitting  for  market.  How  much  do  you  want  a  month  ?" 
The  idea  of  being  a  kind  of  superintendent  of  a  small 

tavern  and  of  driving  as  fine  a  team  as  S 's  blacks 

was  the  height  of  all  greatness  to  my  mind,  and  we 
struck  a  bargain  at  eight  dollars  a  month.  Mr. 

S soon  after  started  for  New  York  City,  leaving 

me  to  take  charge  of  the  tavern,  and  a  young  man  by 
the  name  of  Brace  as  clerk  in  his  store. 

My  wardrobe  at  the  time  was  somewhat  scanty, 
and  as  spring  came  on  I  had  need  of  new  and  more 
respectable  clothing ;  that  is,  my  position  as  mixer 
of  whisk}^  sling,  gin  cocktails  and  brandy  smashes, 
-and  retailer  of  "penny  grab"  cigars  required  that  I 
should  appear  in  dignified  attire.  I  went  into  the 
store  and  told  Brace  that  I  wanted  cloth  for  a  new 
suit  of  clothes,  a  new  hat,  boots,  etc.  What  was  my 
surprise  and  chagrin  when  he  told  me  I  was  at  work 
to  pay  the  old  debt  of  my  father,  and  he  was  in 
structed  not  to  let  me  have  anything  out  of  the  store 


BIRTH   AND   BOYHOOD.  25 

during  Mr.  S 's  absence.  At  this  I  was  indig 
nant  and  not  a  little  enraged,  and  I  at  once  said, 
"Well,  then  I  shall  leave  ;  you  may  take  charge  of 
the  hotel  and  the  horses,  for  I  am  not  the  boy  to 
work  for  any  old  whisky  debts,  and  go  ragged  while 
doing  so,  into  the  bargain."  I  was  about  to  leave  the 
store  in  a  rage  when  Brace,  who  by  the  way  was  a 
good  friend  of  mine,  and  in  deep  sympathy  with  me, 
said,  "Well,  Hiram,  I  will  let  you  have  what  you 
want  on  my  account.  I  will  take  the  responsibility 

until  Mr.  S returns  from  New  York,  and  then 

you  and  he  can  settle  the  matter."  I  at  once  replied, 
"No,  I  will  not  take  a  thing  only  on  my  own  account 
and  for  my  own  labor.  If  I  cannot  have  what  I  want 
on  those  conditions  I  will  stay  no  longer,  and  as  to 
working  out  that  old  whisky  debt,  it  is  something  I 
will  never  do."  At  this  decided  declaration  Brace 
replied,  "Very  well,  Hi,  it  is  too  bad,  and  I  will  let 
you  have  what  you  want  and  you  must  settle  it  with 

Mr.  S when  he  returns  from  New  York  City." 

Upon  this  condition  cloth  for  a  summer  suit,  cloth 
for  two  shirts,  a  pair  of  shoes  and  a  hat  were  se 
cured.  The  cloth  for  my  suit  I  carried  home  that 
my  father  might  cut  them  out,  and  my  mother  and 
sister  make  them.  That  night  after  going  to  bed  my 


26        FROM   THE   STAGE   COACH   TO   THE   PULPIT. 

reflections  were  something  like  the  following  :  "  Now, 

when  S gets  home,  we  shall  have  a   conflict 

about  this  matter.  He  and  my  father  will  lay  their 
heads  together,  and  compel  me  to  work  out  this 
eighty  dollar  debt  at  eight  dollars  a  month — ten  long 
months.  This  is  not  right  and  just,  I  have  no  heart 
to  stay  and  no  determination  to  do  it." 


RUNNING  AWAY  FROM  HOME.         27 


CHAPTER  H. 

RUNNING   AWAY    FROM    HOME. STAGE    DRIVING   AND 

STAGE    DRIVERS. 

VrdlOUGHTS  like  these  soon  induced  me  to  form 
-L  plans  for  leaving  my  home,  parents,  brothers  and 
sisters,  to  seek  my  own  livelihood  among  strangers. 
The  next  morning  I  asked  my  mother  to  make  my 
shirts  as  soon  as  possible  as  I  was  in  very  great  need 
of  them.  She  and  my  sister  were  not  long  in  finishing 
them ;  and  as  soon  as  they  were  done  I  tied  them  in 
a  bundle  with  the  rest  of  my  new  made  clothes  and 
started  apparently  for  the  tavern,  but  really  I  knew 
not  where.  I  passed  out  of  the  little  village  unob 
served  by  any  one.  Arriving  at  the  road  leading  to 
Bushnell's  Basin  on  the  Erie  canal,  I  turned  my  steps 
thitherward. 

I  did  not  take  the  main  road,  fearing  that  I  might 
meet  some  one  who  would  detect  and  report  me. 
As  I  wended  my  lonely  way  among  the  by-roads  I 
had  ample  time  for  reflection,  and  my  mind  was 
filled  with  thoughts  like  these:  "  Now,  I  am 


28        FROM    THE    STAGE    COACH   TO    THE    PULPIT. 

taking  an  important  step,  one  that  will  tell  for  good 
or  evil  on  my  whole  after-life.  I  shall  have  no  kind 
mother  to  look  after  me,  no  sweet  sister  to  caress 
and  respect  me,  no  familiar  friend  to  advise  and 
counsel  me.  I  am  all  alone,  without  friends  or 
home,  and  now,  after  all,  would  I  not  gain  by  return 
ing  to  Mendon,  where  I  will  be  near  my  mother  and 
sisters,  and  where  I  will  see  and  be  with  those  who 
are  near  and  dear  to  me,  even  if  I  have  to  work 
almost  a  year  to  cancel  that  old  whisky  bill."  Then, 
again,  I  thought:  " If  I  do  return,  I  must  be  a 
poor,  despised  lackey  in  a  miserable  rum  hole ;  I 
must  be  an  associate  and  companion  of  those  belong 
ing  to  the  lowest  grades  of  society ;  I  must  work 
and  thus  spend  a  whole  year  of  my  life  for  nothing 
that  will  do  me  any  good ;  for  something  that  has 
done  no  good  in  times  past  or  present,  and  will 
benefit  no  one  in  time  to  come." 

With  thoughts  like  these  I  arrived  at  the  Basin, 
and.  took  my  stand  upon  the  bridge  to  await  the 
arrival  of  the  next  boat.  I  cared  not  much  from 
which  way  it  came,  whether  east  or  west,  it  mattered 
not  to  me.  All  I  cared  for  was  to  go — somewhere, 
anywhere,  but  back  to  Mendon.  I  longed  to  be 
moving.  I  wanted  to  escape  from  the  terrible  dread 


RUNNING   AWAY   FKOM   HOME.  29 

of  working  out  old  rum  bills.  I  hated  the  very 
name  of  liquor,  and  despised  all  connected  with  it. 
I  was  desperate,  and  growing  more  and  more  so 
when  a  boat  hove  in  sight,  and  I  alighted  upon  its 
deck,  taking  passage  for  the  East  at  one  and  a  half 
cents  a  mile,  board  included.  After  a  few  miles' 
ride  the  captain  approached  me  and  said,  "Young 
man,  do  you  wish  to  get  employment?"  I  said, 
"  Yes,  sir  ;"  and  we  soon  closed  a  bargain,  he  agree 
ing  to  pay  me  ten  dollars  a  month  as  a  hand  upon 
the  boat.  As  we  neared  Syracuse,  our  steward  was 
taken  ill,  and  had  to  leave  the  boat  at  that  place. 
As  we  had  on  board  a  number  of  passengers  to  be 
cared  for,  a  new  steward  must  be  found.  After 
some  talking  and  calculating,  I  was  established  in 
that  office,  or,  as  the  phrase  was,  I  was  made  "  chief 
cook  and  bottle-washer."  In  this  position  I  gave 
general  satisfaction,  so  much  so  that  Capt.  Warren 
and  his  passengers  began  to  praise  me  as  a  first-rate 
bar-tender  and  a  number  one  cook. 

After  arriving  at  Albany  and  unloading  our  craft 
and  cleaning  up  our  cabins,  I  strolled  up  into  the 
business  part  of  town,  and  calling  at  a  hotel,  met 
James  Herriugton,  an  old  stage  driver  with  whom 
I  had  been  acquainted  at  Mendon.  We  were  both 


30    FKOM  THE  STAGE  COAOH  TO  THE  PULPIT. 

taken  by  surprise ;  and,  in  his  rough  and  profane 
way — you  don't  want  the  profane  part,  and  so  I 
will  leave  it  out — he  said  :  "  How  come  you  here  ?  " 
And  then,  introducing  me  to  his  companion,  added : 
"Here  is  Hi  Stimson,  one  of  the  smartest  boys  I 
ever  knew.  He  can  cut  more  tricks  and  make  more 
fun  than  any  boy  I  ever  saw.  He  can  sing  the  best 
songs,  dance  the  best  hornpipes,  make  the  best  flip, 
sling  or  punch  any  of  his  age  :  and  that  aint  all,  he 
is  a  tip-top  reinsnian,  and  can  drive  four  or  six 
horses  to  a  nit's  eye.  Come,  let's  walk  up  and  take 
a  little  ;  the  least  drop  in  the  world  won't  hurt  you, 
if  you  wash  it  down  with  rum."  After  we  had 
drunk,  James  took  me  one  side  and  said  :  "  Hi,  if 
you  wish  me  to  assist  you  in  any  way,  I  will  do  it. 
I  think  I  can  get  you  into  a  good  berth  here  as  a 
driver,  for  I  know  you  are  a  first  rate  reinsman."  I 
told  him  all  my  troubles ;  how  I  came  away  from 
Mendon,  and  what  induced  me  to  leave  home.  This 
so  affected  him  that  he  could  not  restrain  his  tears, 
and,  taking  me  by  the  hand,  he  said:  "Well, 
Hiram,  I  will  stand  by  you  as  long  as  I  have  a  clean 
shirt  and  a  shilling  left."  I  informed  him  that  I  had 
all  my  wages  due  in  the  hands  of  Capt.  Warren,  and 
that  I  would  settle  with  him  and  draw  what  was 


RUNNING  AWAY  FROM  HOME.          31 

corning  to  me,  if  there  was  a  prospect  of  employ 
ment  at  higher  wages.  He  took  me  to  the  stage 
office,  where  he  introduced  me  to  the  proprietors  of 
the  line,  with  whom  I  soon  closed  a  bargain,  they 
agreeing  to  pay  me  sixteen  dollars  a  month,  with  a 
bonus  of  twenty-five  dollars,  provided  I  remained  a 
year.  I  then  returned  to  the  boat,  settled  with  the 
captain,  and  drew  my  balance.  The  captain  was 
sorry  to  have  me  leave,  but  expressed  himself 
pleased  that  I  had  found  a  better  paying  position. 

I  commenced  work  in  my  new  vocation  as  stage 
driver  the  next  morning.  The  route  was  the  great 
road  between  Albany  and  Schenectady.  Here  my 

only  fear  was  that  of  meeting  Mr.  S ,  who  would 

probably  return  from  New  York  by  stage.  I  had 
laid  James  H.  under  obligations  to  keep  my  where 
abouts  a  secret,  in  case  he  should  meet  any  one  from 
the  West  that  knew  me. 

Thus  passed  the  summer,  from  May  till  August. 
Although  I  saw  many  whom  I  recognized,  yet  no 
one  I  met  knew  me,  until  one  morning,  about  the 
first  of  September,  as  I  drove  up  to  the  hotel  in 
Albany.  Among  those  who  came  out  to  take  stage 
was  one  H.  B.,  a  young  man  of  Mendon,  who  was 
well  acquainted  in  my  father's  family,  and  whom  I 


32        FROM   THE    STAGE    COACH   TO   THE    PULPIT. 

knew  to  be  conversant  with  all  the  facts  about  my 
leaving  home,  I  having  met  him  on  my  way  from 
Mendon  to  Bushnell's  Basin.  I  turned  my  face  from 
him,  turned  up  my  collar  and  drew  my  hat  over  my 
eyes,  to  elude,  if  possible,  his  recognition  of  me. 
He  stood,  smoking  his  cigar,  till  almost  all  the 
others  were  in  the  stage,  and  then,  turning  to  me, 
he  said:  "  Driver,  can  I  ride  'on  the  box  with 
you?"  I  answered,  "Yes,  sir;  certainly."  After 
we  set  out  from  the  city,  he  continued  to  ask  me  ques 
tions  about  trifling  matters,  and  I  answered  in  the 
monosyllables  "  yes "  and  "no,"  until  at  length  I 
turned  my  face  toward  him  and  he  caught  a  glimpse 
of  my  features.  With  a  loud  expression  of  sur 
prise,  he  exclaimed:  "Oh!  my  ,  is  this 

you,  Hi?  Your  mother  has  cried  her  eyes  out  for 
you,  and  all  Mendon  is  in  wonder  about  what  has 
become  of  you ;  but  all  agree  that  you  have  served 
Mr.  S.  and  your  father  just  right.  But  it  will  kill 
your  mother,  if  she  does  not  hear  from  you." 

His  conversation  quite  overcame  me,  and  my  hard 
and  obdurate  heart  yielded  to  the  most  filial  and 
affectionate  emotions,  and  I  found  relief  in  tears. 
I  then  laid  B.  under  secrecy,  he  promising  to  say 
nothing  about  our  meeting  to  any  one  except  my 


RUNNING  AWAY  FROM  HOME.          33 

mother,  and  only  to  her  after  she  had  promised  not 
to  reveal  my  whereabouts  to  my  father  or  to  any  of 
my  family.  B.  was  as  good  as  his  word,  for  on 
arriving  at  Mendon  he  called  at  my  father's,  and 
taking  my  mother  aside,  and  after  she  had  promised 
secrecy,  told  her  all  about  our  meeting  and  of  my 
whereabouts  and  circumstances.  She  immediately 
sat  down  and  wrote  me  the  following  kind  and 
motherly  letter : 

MENDON,  August  27th,  1824. 

My  Dear  Boy :  I  was  made  to  rejoice  yesterday 
as  Harry  Benedict  informed  me  that  you  are  in 
Albany.  This  summer  has  indeed  been  a  long  one 
to  me  and  your  sisters,  for  we  have  been  in  constant 
suspense  concerning  you,  my  dear  absent  boy. 
Sally  and  Lucinda  are  not  as  yet  in  the  secret  of 
your  whereabouts,  as  Harry  has  made  me  promise 
not  to  tell  that  which  I  have  heard  from  you.  My  dear 
Hiram,  I  hope  you  will  conduct  yourself  in  a  manner 
that  will  be  creditable  to  yourself  and  your  family. 
Remember  you  have  now  no  mother  near  you  to 
watch  over  you,  no  kind  sisters  to  exert  a  reclaiming 
influence  upon  your  wandering  habits.  Therefore, 
you  must  be  doubly  watchful  over  your  actions  and 
thoughts,  that  you  bring  not  your  family  to  shame 
and  bury  in  grief  the  head  of  your  sorrowing 
mother.  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  * 


34        FROM    THE    STAGE    COACH   TO    THE    PULPIT. 

Your  father  and  Mr.  S.  have  been  in  a  rage  of 
madness  about  your  conduct  in  leaving  as  you  did. 
Write  me  at  Pittsford,  and  Harry  Benedict  will  get 
the  letter  for  me. 

Your  affectionate  mother, 

NANCY  STIMSON. 

I  received  this  letter  and  read  it  with  many  con 
flicting  emotions,  and  then  retired  to  my  room,  there 
to  give  vent  to  a  flood  of  tears,  such  as  only  an  ab 
sent  and  erring  but  affectionate  son  who  has  read  his 
first  letter  from  a  dear  and  loving  mother  can  shed. 
As  I  sat  there  alone  pondering  upon  my  condition, 
thinking  of  my  mother,  sisters  and  home,  of  all  the 
pleasant  hours  I  had  spent  there,  1  almost  wished  I 
was  in  the  presence  of  my  parents  even  at  the 

expense  of  being  at  work  for  S tending  bar  ;  but 

again  the  thought  of  that  old  whisky  debt  was  too 
much  for  me,  and  made  me  resolve  not  to  go  back 
again ;  and  my  hatred  of  ruin  and  drunkenness  was 
stronger  and  tenfold  deeper-seated  than  ever. 

A  call  to  duty  in  the  coach-yard  interrupted  my 
reflections,  but  I  went  about  my  duties  feeling,  as  I 
never  had  felt  before,  the  influence,  worth  and  con 
stancy  of  a  mother's  love  for  an  absent  son.  My 
friend  James  Herringtou,  who  was  at  that  time  in  the 


RUNNING   AWAY   FROM    HOME.  35 

yard,  observed  my  sad  look  and  downcast  expression, 
and  stepped  up  to  me  and  said  in  a  bantering  tone, 
44  Well,  Hi,  what's  the  matter?  Have  you  heard  bad 
news  from  your  sweetheart?  Is  she  going  to  jilt  you, 
or  what  is  the  trouble?"  I  begged  him  not  to  jeer 
me,  and  taking  him  one  side  showed  him  my  mother's 
letter.  He  took  it  andjperused  its  contents.  As  he 
read  it  I  could  see  in  his  large,  rough  face  the  work 
ings  of  the  better  man.  As  he  finished  reading,  his 
eyes  filled  with  tears,  and  in  a  half-choked  voice  he 
said,  "God  bless  the  old  woman  !  Hiram,  it  is  a  fact  a 
mother  is  about  the  only  true  friend  that  we  poor 
devils  have.  Your  poor  old  mother  will  stand  by 
and  comfort  you  when  everybody  else  forsakes 
you.  That  is  just  like  a  mother ;  I  know  it  from  ex 
perience." 

Feeling  incompetent  to  write  a  proper  reply  to  my 
mother's  letter,  I  requested  James  to  act  as  my 
scribe,  to  which  request  he  readily  consented ,  and  in  a 
short  time  he  had  finished  the  following  letter,  which 
I  directed  to  my  mother  at  Pittsforcl,  care  of  Henry 
Benedict,  who  delivered  it  to  its  proper  owner : 

ALBANY,  OCT.  4th,  1824. 

My  Dear  Mother :  Your  kind  and  welcome  letter 
came  to  hand  last  week,  and  I  improve  the  present 


36    FROM  THE  STAGE  COACH  TO  THE  PULPIT. 

moment  in  writing  to  you  a  few  lines.  I  did  not 
leave  Mcndon  because  I  did  not  love  you  and  all  the 
family,  my  mother  and  my  sisters  particularly.  I 
love  you  as  I  love  my  own  eyes  and  life,  but  to  stay 
there  and  work  out  an  old  debt  contracted  for  whisky 
for  the  purpose  of  keeping  in  operation  a  little  seven 
by  nine  grocery,  the  only  business  of  which  is  to  fin 
ish  off  a  few  miserable  old  drunkards  that  the  hotels 
cannot  afford  to  do  at  so  cheap  a  rate,  is  something  I 
could  not  do.  In  the  second  place,  father  and  Mr. 
S.  deceived  me  by  laying  a  plan  to  compel  me  to 
work  it  out  and  to  go  ragged  while  I  was  at  work, 
thus  obliging  me  to  make  a  fool  of  myself,  by  being 
a  mere  lackey  for  a  bar-room,  and  a  buffoon  for  the 
devil. 

I  am  now  doing  well  and  saving  my  wages,  and 
will  send  you  and  the  girls  something  nice  when  I 
get  a  chance.     Keep  it  all  dark  about  my  being  in 
Albany  or  anywhere  else,  and  believe  me 
Your  affectionate  son, 

HIEAM  K.  STIMSON. 

These  two  letters  were  the  only  communications 
that  passed  between  my  mother  and  myself  until  I 
returned  home — a  space  of  eight  months. 

After  this  event  I  continued  my  "professional" 
services  as  stage  driver  and  general  fun-maker  among 
the  craft  until  about  the  middle  of  October,  at  which 


RUNNING  AWAY  FROM  HOME.          37 

time  I  was  taken  ill  with  a  severe  fever,  being  obliged 
to  give  up  my  team  and  keep  my  bed.  After 
two  weeks'  sickness  the  doctor  informed  me  that  I 
was  "a  very  sick  man,"  adding  that  if  I  had  any 
friends  they  should  be  advised  of  my  condition,  for 
I  was  in  some  danger.  Soon  after  he  left  the  room, 
the  hotel  keeper  came  to  me  and  inquired  concern 
ing  my  ability  to  pay  for  being  taken  care  of.  I  sent 
for  the  agent  of  the  line  to  come  and  see  me.  He 
and  my  friend  James  H.  came  in  together.  The 
agent  told  Munger,  the  hotel  keeper,  that  he  need 
give  himself  no  trouble  about  the  pay,  as  he  would 
attend  to  all  that  matter.  James  said  he  would  find 
a  place  where  I  could  have  better  care  than  I  was 
then  getting  at  Hunger's.  He  soon  made  arrange 
ments  for  my  removal  to  a  private  house,  where  I 
received  the  best  attention  and  care  that  could  be 
afforded,  considering  their  scanty  accommodations. 
And  although  it  was  not  a  sister's  care  or  a  mother's 
nursing,  yet  it  was  all  I  could  expect.  James,  and 
in  fact  all  the  drivers  of  the  "  old  line,"  as  it  was 
called,  and  the  wives  of  as  many  as  were  married, 
were  constant  in  their  attentions  to  me  in  my  sick 
ness. 

And  here  let  me  correct  a  false  impression.     It  is 


38        FROM   THE    STAGE    COACH   TO    THE    PULPIT. 

generally  supposed  that  stage  drivers  are  an  unfeel 
ing,  worthless  class  of  beings.  It  is  true  many  of 
them  are  exceedingly  profane,  and  not  a  few  are 
intemperate  in  their  habits  ;  but,  with  all  their  rough 
and  uncouth  exterior,  they  are  generous  and  frank 
to  a  fault.  I  have  known  one  to  pull  off  his  over 
coat  in  a  cold  winter's  day  and  give  it  to  a  sick 
passenger  inside,  while,  at  the  same  time,  a  "  broad 
cloth  gentleman  "  of  the  legal  profession  would  not 
even  give  the  sick  man  the  hind  seat  of  the  coach, 
thus  compelling  him  to  ride  on  the  middle  seat, 
rather  than  give  up  an  iota  of  his  own  comfort.  I 
have  known  them  to  contribute  their  last  dollar  to  a 
poor,  unfortunate  fellow-driver.  The  steam  engine 
is  fast  monopolizing  the  place  of  the  old  stage  coach. 
The  engineer  is  now  the  hero  of  the  road,  and  not 
the  old-time  stage  driver.  The  stage  coach  has 
considerable  country  to  the  west  of  us  to  subdue  to 
the  empire  of  the  engine ;  but  the  time  is  coming 
when  the  last  coach  will  make  its  last  run,  and  the 
final  stage  driver  will  crack  his  whip  and  dismount 
for  the  last  time.  And  having  been  one  of  the  craft 
in  the  childhood  of  the  stage  coach  in  this  country, 
I  want  to  record  my  testimony  to  the  noble-hearted- 
ness  of  the  professional  stage  driver — a  character 


RUNNING   AWAY   FKOM   HOME.  39 

that  many  young  people  who  read  this  book  will 
never  meet.  They  have  received  the  curses  of 
many  polite  gentlemen ;  they  deserve  the  blessings 
of  thousands.  The  modern  omnibus  driver  is  not 
to  be  put  alongside  of  the  stage  driver.  He  is  a 
denizen  of  the  city.  The  stage  driver  is  a  child  of 
nature.  The  omnibus  driver  knows  streets  and 
avenues,  and  is  often  selfish  and  very  vicious,  con 
tracting  the  habits  of  the  metropolis.  The  stage 
driver  has  a  few  feelings  for  all  men,  especially  his 
comrades  and  needy  people,  and  can  drive  his  load 
of  precious  freight  from  one  point  to  another,  with 
no  human  habitation  to  mark  the  road,  the  darkest 
night  that  ever  was,  with  all  the  certainty  of  instinct. 
Of  course,  the  time  is  coming,  also,  when  the 
balloon  pilot  will  take  the  place  of  the  close- 
mouthed,  keen -eyed,  steady -handed,  generous- 
hearted  engine  driver.  But,  as  that  time  will  not 
fall  within  the  evening  of  my  day,  I  leave  it  to  some 
abler  pen  to  record  the  virtues  of  the  noble  army  of 
engineers.  But,  as  the  stage  driver,  like  poor 
"Lo" — will  the  former  excuse  the  reference? — is 
being  driven  from  civilized  society  and  his  services 
dispensed  with,  I  want  to  say  to  the  palace  coach 
grandee  thnt  the  old  historical  stage  driver  is 
worthy  of  a  little  corner  in  American  biography. 


40        FROM   THE    STAGE    COACH   TO    THE   PULPIT. 


CHAPTER  m. 

RETURNING       HOME FIRST      INTERVIEW     WITH     MY 

FATHER. 

(i)UT  I  must  return  to  my  narrative.  After  a 
JL-J  stay  of  about  two  weeks  at  the  house  where 
James  H.  took  me,  the  doctor  informed  me  I  had 
better  take  the  canal  boat  for  home,  as  I  would  be 
unable  to  resume  my  place  as  driver  during  that 
winter.  I  immediately  made  preparations  for  leav 
ing,  and  bade  an  affectionate  farewell  to  the  family 
at  whose  hands  I  had  received  such  attention  and 
care.  Accompanied  as  far  as  the  boat  by  my  friend 
James  Herrington,  I  started  for  Mendon,  over  three 
hundred  miles  distant,  where  I  arrived  in  the  stage 
from  Pittsford  shortly  after  sunrise.  I  was  hailed 
by  my  mother  and  sisters  with  joy  and  surprise — 
joy  at  my  return,  to  know  that  I  was  once  more 
among  them  ;  with  surprise  at  my  emaciated  condi 
tion,  reduced  as  I  was  with  a  long  and  severe 
sickness. 

My  father  was  not  at  home  when  I  arrived,  and 
my  mother  was  fearful  of  the  consequences  of  the 


RETURNING   HOME.  41 

meeting  between  us.  For  she  knew  Mr.  S.  had  done 
all  in  his  power  to  enrage  my  father  against  me  for 
leaving  him  in  the  manner  I  did.  I  sent  for  Jere 
miah  S.  Stone,  an  old  friend  of  mine  from  boyhood, 
who  kept  a  hotel  and  store  just  opposite  the  estab 
lishment  of  Mr.  S.  He  advised  me  what  to  do,  as 
suring  me  that  I  should  be  protected  at  all  hazards. 

While  on  ray  way  home  I  had  sewed  my  money, 
amounting  to  some  sixty  dollars,  into  my  vest  lining, 
to  keep  it  away  from  my  father  and  his  whisky  cred 
itor.  This  money  I  now  concluded  to  deposit  with 
Stone  for  safe-keeping. 

The  day  wore  away.  My  father  returned  in  the 
evening.  I  was  in  bed  when  he  came  in ;  but  one 
of  my  little  brothers  said,  "  Father,  Hiram's  got 
home."  He  made  little  or  no  reply.  I  got  up  and 
came  down  stairs.  As  I  entered  the  room  he  arose 
and  gazing  at  me  exclaimed,  "  What  in  the  devil  is 
the  matter  with  you?  You  look  like  a  ghost."  I 
replied  that  I  had  been  sick.  "  Sick  ha  !  you  have 
been  to  sea  I  suppose.  What's  the  news  in  Europe  ?  " 
"Nothing  of  importance,"  I  replied,  "except  that 
the  Dutch  have  taken  Holland."  At  this  he  set  up 
a  hearty  laugh,  and  thus  ended  the  matter  for  the 
present. 


42    FROM  THE  STAGE  COACH  TO  THE  PULPIT. 

In  a  little  time  I  was  able  to  walk  about,  and  went 
over  to  Stone's  hotel,  being  made  welcome  to  con 
sider  it  my  home  until  I  was  able  to  go  to  work 
again,  which  invitation  I  accepted.  One  day  shortly 
after  this,  as  I  was  passing  along  in  front  of  Mr.  S.'s 
premises,  he  standing  in  the  door  hailed  me  in  some 
thing  like  the  following  language  :  '  '  That's  the  run 
away.  Walk  up  here  and  let  us  see  how  you  look." 
As  I  stopped  at  the  platform,  one  Hollister,  an  old 
man,  took  me  by  the  hand  to  help  me  up  the  steps 
and  offered  me  a  chair  ;  but  Mr.  S.  exclaimed,  "No" — 
with  an  oath — "he  shan't  sit  here.  I  have  called 
him  up  here  to  horsewhip  him."  And  suiting  the 
action  to  the  word,  reaching  his  hand  towards  the 
post,  he  took  up  a  large  black  whip  and  came  towards 
me  in  a  rage.  Hollister  interposed,  saying:  Mr.  S., 
you  shan't  strike  a  sick  boy ;  if  you  do  I'll  make  a 
corpse  of  you  in  two  minutes  ;  I'll  make  your  wife  a 
widow  and  your  children  orphans  before  sundown." 

When  my  father  heard  of  the  manner  in  which  S. 
had  attempted  to  horsewhip  me,  he  was  very  much 
enraged;  so  much  so  that  he  went  over  to  see  S., 
saying  to  him,  among  other  things  more  forcible  than 
elegant,  "  If  you  had  struck  the  boy,  I  would  have 
made  Irish  hash  of  you  and  fed  you  out  to  the  devil's 


RETURNING   HOME.  43 

boarders  for  breakfast  this  morning."  This  caused 
a  breach  between  Mr.  S.  and  my  father,  which  in  a 
measure  worked  a  reconciliation  between  my  father 
and  myself. 

I  remained  with  the  Stone  family  during  the  bal 
ance  of  that  winter,  doing  such  chores  about  the  hotel 
as  my  delicate  health  would  permit. 

My  father  had  found  out  that  I  had  on  deposit  with 
Stone  the  sixty  dollars  I  had  left  with  him  the  fall  I 
came  home  from  Albany,  and  was  about  to  make  a 
demand  for  it,  when  we  compromised  the  matter  by 
a  contract  as  follows  :  I  was  to  give  him  sixty  dollars 
a  year  for  my  time  until  I  was  of  age,  paying  thirty 
dollars  in  advance,  and  thirty  dollars  every  six 
months,  Mr.  Stone  being  security  for  me. 

Early  in  the  spring,  I  engaged  with  Orrie  Adams, 
of  Rochester,  to  drive  stage  between  that  place  and 
Avon,  commencing  work  during  the  month  of  March. 
During  the  next  July  I  was  changed  to  the  route 
from  Rochester  to  Bergen,  on  the  Buffalo  road.  I 
continued  on  this  route  for  two  years  and  a  half,  and 
during  this  time  I  became  acquainted  with  a  large 
circle  of  young  friends  who  were  much  given  to  frol 
icking  and  dancing,  the  latter  a  recreation  to  which 
I  was  much  attached  from  childhood. 


44        FROM    THE    STAGE    COACH   TO   THE    PULPIT. 

During  this  time  I  induced  my  old  and  tried  friend, 
James  Herrington,  to  come  on  from  Albany  to  West 
ern  New  York,  as  an  increase  of  the  business  in  the 
West  made  a  demand  for  drivers.  In  him  I  always 
found  a  true  man  ;  with  all  his  rough  exterior  he  was 
one  of  "nature's  noblemen." 

I  will  here  introduce  an  incident  that  occurred  thir 
teen  years  later.  In  183 7,  while  I  was.  pastor  at 
Bethany,  in  Genesee  County,  I  took  a  journey  to 
Michigan/  On  my  return  to  Buffalo  I  took  the  stage 
for  Batavia,  the  country  being  innocent  of  railroads. 
Coming  out  of  the  hotel,  I  saw  upon  the  box  of  the 
stage,  my  old  friend  James  Herrington.  He  had 
changed,  but  I  knew  him.  I  resolved  at  once  to  get 
the  liberty  of  a  seat  on  the  box  with  him.  So  I  said 
to  him  in  as  polite  a  way  as  I  could,  "Well,  captain, 
can  I  ride  with  you  on  the  box  this  fine  morning?" 
He  replied,  "I  am  no  captain,  nor  corporal,  but  you 
arc  welcome  to  a  seat  with  me,  as  no  other  one  has 
spoken  for  it."  So  up  I  climbed,  and  away  we  went 
out  of  the  city. 

I  made  every  effort  for  him  to  recognize  me,  with 
out  telling  him  who  I  was.  I  asked  him  a  multitude 
of  small  questions  about  driving,  if  it  was  not  a  hard 
life,  exposed  to  sun  and  storms,  what  wages  he  got, 


RETURNING   HOME.  45 

etc.,  etc.     To  all  of  which  he  gave  prompt  and  civil 
answers. 

As  he  stopped  at  Williamsville,  ten  miles  out  of 
Buffalo,  to  change  the  mails  and  water  the  horses,  I 
volunteered  to  hold  the  reins.  "  Think  ye  can  hold 
'em?  You  look  a  little  too  white-livered  to  manage 
these  old  snorters;  but  you  may  try  yer  hand  at  it, 
stranger."  So  I  took  the  reins,  and  while  he  was 
watering  he  looked  up  and  saw  that  I  had  adjusted 
the  < '  ribbons"  according  to  the  rules  of  the  ' '  knights 
of  the  order  of  Jehu."  As  he  got  up  on  the  box  he 
remarked,  "Well,  I  think  you  have  bandied  four 
' ribbons'  before  to-day,  hain't  ye?"  and  looked  me 
full  in  the  face.  I  smiled  and  returned  the  look. 
He  exclaimed  with  solemnity,  and  not  in  a  spirit  of 
profanity,  "My  God  !  if  this  ain't  you,  Hi.  Stimson." 
At  once  the  tears  stole  down  from  his  large  eyes, 
over  his  rough,  brown  cheeks,  as  he  caught  me  by 
the  hand,  and  after  a  moment's  convulsion  said, 
"Well,  well,  if  this  don't  beat  all,  that  I  should  ride 
all  the  way  from  Buffalo  with  you  and  not  know  Hi 
ram  Stimson.  How  glad  I  am  to  see  you  !  Now,  tell 
me  about  yourself,  and  is  your  old  mother  living  yet  ? 
I  have  heard  of  you  a  number  of  times  in  all  these 
years,  and  could  hardly  believe  the  yarns  told  about 


46        FROM   THE    STAGE    COACH   TO   THE   PULPIT. 

you,  that  you  had  become  a  Christian  and  a  minister 
and  was  much  respected,  and  looked  up  to.  Well, 
well,  if  this  ain't  as  strange  as  a  dream  !  How  do  ye 
s'pose  I  came  to  know  ye  ?  It's  just  this  :  as  I  stood 
there  watering  my  team,  and  saw  you  holding  them 
4 ribbons'  something  seemed  to  crawl  into  my  head, 
'  I  have  seen  him  somewhere  ;'  and  then  when  you 
smiled  I  knew  you,  because  you  always  laughed  out 
of  the  corners  of  your  eyes.  Well,  Hiram,  we  must 
talk  last,  for  its  near  the  end  of  my  road."  I  told 
him  all :  how  the  Lord  had  led  me  to  see  myself  as 
a  sinner,  and  to  embrace  Jesus  as  my  only  hope  of 
salvation  from  sin,  from  intemperance,  and  a  drunk 
ard's  undone  eternity.  And  we  parted  with  a  prom 
ise  and  a  hope  to  meet  again. 

James  Herrington  after  this  became  a  humble  and 
useful  Christian,  the  deacon  of  a  Freewill  Baptist 
church  in  the  city  of  Buffalo,  and  died  respected  and 
beloved  by  all  that  knew  him.  The  reader  will  for 
give  this  episode.  I  must  return  to  my  narrative  of 
thirteen  years  previous 

At  my  boarding  house  in  Bergen  I  became  ac 
quainted  with  a  young  friend,  James  Davis.  He  had 
been  apprenticed  to  the  wagon-making  business  in 
the  shop  of  Mr.  Carver.  James  and  myself  lodged 


RETURNING    HOME.  47 

together  at  BuePs  hotel,  and  at  night  he  would  tell 
over  to  me  all  his  troubles,  which  were  simply  these  : 
His  mother  was  a  pious  Baptist  lady,  as  was  also  his 
sister  Sally.  His  oldest  brothers,  Lymaii  and  George, 
were  also  members  of  the  Baptist  Church.  His  fam 
ily  were  opposed  to  his  attending  places  of  amuse 
ment,  and  dancing,  and  these  being  the  order  of 
the  day  in  Bergen,  it  was  almost  impossible  to  re 
strain  him.  He  soon  became  restive  and  dissatisfied 
with  his  place  and  occupation,  and  decided  to  leave 
home  and  seek  his  fortune  among  strangers. 

I  in  turn  gave  him  a  history  of  my  adventures  on 
leaving  home.  And  I  have  reason  to  think  that  it 
was  mostly  through  my  influence  that  he  was  in 
duced  to  leave  home.  Hence,  how  true  it  is  that 
"  one  sinner  destroyeth  much  good."  He  obtained 
permission  from  Carver  to  spend  a  week  at  home  with 
his  mother,  but  instead  of  going  home  he  started  for 
Troy,  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  State,  where  he  had 
wealthy  relatives,  I  being  the  only  one  cognizant  of 
his  real  destination.  Thus  he  had  a  fair  start,  his 
mother  supposing  him  to  be  in  the  shop  at  Bergen 
Corners,  and  Mr.  Carver  supposing  him  to  be  with 
his  mother.  When  they  discovered  that  he  was 
gone,  his  mother  came  to  me  and  said,  by  way  of  in- 


48        FROM    THE    STAGE    COACH   TO   THE   PULPIT. 

troducing  the  conversation,  "  Young  man,  have  you 
a  mother?"  To  which  I  replied  in  the  affirmative. 
"  Well,  if  you  had  left  your  mother  and  home  and 
gone — where  she  knew  not — and  a  friend  in  the 
neighborhood  did  know,  would  it  not  be  a  mercy  to 
your  mother  for  that  friend  to  inform  her  of  your 
whereabouts?"  This  appeal  to  my  feelings  quite 
overpowered  me,  and  with  choked  utterance  and 
tearful  eyes  I  answered,  "I  will  tell  you  all  about 
your  son.  He  is  in  Troy  and  here  is  a  letter  from 
him,"  at  the  same  time  handing  her  one  which  I  had 
just  received.  The  good  old  woman  took  it  and 
said,  "  God  bless  you  for  this  relief  to  my  afflicted 
heart !  The  death  of  my  husband  was  indeed  a  sad 
bereavement,  but  the  wandering  of  my  dear  James 
and  the  suspense  I  have  been  in  to  hear  from  him  is 
taking  my  life  by  inches  ! "  I  then  as  I  never  had 
before,  realized  the  pain  and  anguish  I  had  given 
my  own  dear  mother  in  leaving  home  as  I  did  some 
two  years  before.  Although  I  had  some  show  of  rea 
son  for  doing  so  at  the  time.  I  now  felt  that  I  was 
guilty  of  a  great  outrage  upon  parental  affection  and 
a  mother's  care.  As  I  shall  have  occasion  to  allude 
to  this  subject  again,  I  will  now  dismiss  it  and  pro 
ceed  with  my  narrative! 


RETURNING   HOME.  49 

I  continued  on  in  my  wild  and  reckless  career,  at 
times  keeping  the  whole  community  in  a  state  of 
excitement  about  some  practical  joke.  For  instance, 
while  at  Kochester,  on  one  of  my  trips,  there  came 
a  young  man  into  the  "  Eagle  Hotel,"  of  a  pompous 
and  boastful  bearing,  telling  about  his  money  and 
his  ability  to  carry  on  business.  He  said  he  wanted 
to  purchase  a  good  mill  site  for  manufacturing  flour. 
I  saw  at  once  that  he  was  a  "  greenhorn."  So  I 
entered  into  conversation  with  him,  telling  him  of  a 
grand  mill  privilege  at  Bergen,  near  the  village, 
where,  with  a  moderate  dam,  a  twenty-foot  fall  could 
be  obtained.  He  made  inquiries  about  wheat,  the 
probability  of  the  owner  selling  the  property,  etc., 
to  all  of  which  I  of  course  answered  favorably.  The 
next  morning  he  paid  his  fare  to  Bergen,  treating 
his  new  friend  the  ' '  driver "  at  every  stopping 
place.  We  arrived  at  Bergen  about  noon,  and  as 
soon  as  he  had  swallowed  his  dinner,  off  we  started 
for  the  proposed  mill  site.  Just  west  of  Bergen  is 
a  deep  gully,  with  banks  twenty  or  thirty  feet  high. 
As  we  approached  the  spot,  I  began  discussing  the 
best  place  for  the  dam  and  the  position  for  the  mill. 
By  this  time  we  were  at  the  top  of  the  steep  bank, 
when  the  speculator  turned,  and,  looking  me  full  in 


50        FROM   THE    STAGE    COACH   TO   THE    PULPIT. 

the  face,  said  :     "  Well,  but  look  here,  driver,  there 

is  not  a drop  of  water  in  the  whole  concern." 

To  which  I  answered,  in  deep  sympathy  :  "  Well, 
that  is  a  pity ;  but  I  can't  help  it."  This  dry  joke 
cured  the  young  fellow  of  Bergen  and  its  water 
power.  He  returned  forthwith  to  Rochester,  not  to 
hear  the  last  of  his  Bergen  speculation  for  many  a 
day. 

During  all  these  exhibitions  of  youthful  blood,  I 
was  not  without  a  deep  and  pungent  sense  of  my 
lost  condition  as  a  sinner  against  God,  and  most 
cons-cious  that  I  was  fast  hastening  my  soul  to  an 
utter  state  of  ruin.  And  at  times  I  would  go  alone 
into  the  forest,  and  sit  down  and  weep  myself  sick 
over  my  profanity  and  Sabbath-breaking  and  the 
premonitory  symptoms  of  disease  from  my  habits  of 
intemperance,  which,  if  continued  in,  would,  I 
knew,  result  in  my  Tuin  for  tune  and  eternity,  only 
to  return  again  to  the  hotel,  or  some  circle  of  vain 
and  frivolous  associates,  and  enter  with  more  zeal 
and  apparent  thoughtlessness  upon  my  career  of 
sin.  My  pride  and  sense  of  propriety  in  the  com 
pany  of  ladies  exercised  a  restraint  upon  me,  keeping 
me  from  appearing  outlandish  and  vulgar  in  their 
presence.  In  fact,  this  was  about  my  only  passport 


RETURNING   HOME.  51 

to  respectable  society,  and  constituted  ail  my  capital 
as  a  decent  sinner.  And  yet  I  would,  when  out  of 
such  restraining  society,  reduce  myself  to  a  common 
blackguard  and  billingsgate  rough. 

From  early  childhood  I  had  a  strong  prejudice 
against  people  of  color.  I  believe  the  Irish  gene 
rally  are  not  very  fond  of  their  African  relatives. 
On  one  occasion,  as  I  came  up  to  the  door  of  the 
"  Eagle  Hotel,"  to  start  on  my  drive  to  Bergen,  the 
only  passenger  to  take  the  stage  was  a  large,  fleshy 
colored  woman,  about  forty-five  years  of  age. 
Colored  dames  of  that  age  have  a  habit  of  becoming 
fleshy  very  frequently.  With  her  large  bundle — 
they  often  carry  large  bundles  also — she  seated 
herself  in  the  coach.  As  Mr.  Blinn  handed  me  the 
way-bill,  he  said,  in  an  undertone  and  with  a  mis 
chievous  look,  "  I  hope,  Hiram,  you  will  not  get 
love-smitten  with  this  fair  lach7  and  come  back  a 
married  man."  At  which  all  the  bystanders  raised  a 
hearty  laugh,  and  I  cracked  my  whip  and  bounded 
up  Buffalo  street  at  full  speed.  At  each  stopping 
place  my  passenger  and  I  were  the  objects  of  some 
laughing  joke.  It  was  much  funnier  to  laugh  at 
colored  people  then  than  now.  Why?  When  I 
got  to  Riga  Corners,  within  four  miles  of  the  end  of 


52    FROM  THE  STAGE  COACH  TO  THE  PULPIT. 

my  road,  while  the  postmaster  was  changing  the 
mail,  I  buttoned  down  all  the  curtains  of  the  coach 
and  lit  my  lamps,  though  it  was  about  noon,  and 
drove  on  to  the  vicinity  of  Bergen,  when  I  held  up 
into  a  slow  funeral  walk,  blowing  my  stage  horn 
with  a  plaintive-toning  sound,  so  that  it  attracted  all 
the  village.  Taking  a  long  circuitous  turn  up  to 
the  hotel  door,  everybody  came  gazing  with  wonder 
at  my  lighted  lamps,  closed  curtains  and  slow, 
funeral  gait.  As  I  halted,  Mr.  Buell  stepped  up,  us 
he  was  accustomed  to,  and  opened  the  coach  door, 
when  out  sprung  her  ladyship,  as  though  she  would 
enjoy  a  breath  of  fresh  air.  As  she  passed  in  with 
Mr.  B.  to  the  dining  hall,  a  boisterous  laugh  followed. 
It  so  happened  that  I  was  acquainted  with  this 
woman,  and  knew  her  to  be  a  pious,  respectable 
Methodist  member.  As  I  lay  down  at  night,  this 
indignity  to  the  simple-hearted,  innocent  old  woman 
haunted  me.  All  effort  to  sleep  was  vain.  She 
was  black  and  I  was  white.  She  was  a  good  Chris 
tian,  a  child  of  God ;  I  was  a  sinner,  a  child  of  the 
devil.  She  was  despised  by  some  low  characters  on 
account  of  her  color,  but  honored  of  God  as  one 
redeemed  by  Jesus.  I  was  despised,  I  thought,  by 
all  good  beings,  and  loved  by  none.  If  ever  any 


RETURNING   HOME.  53, 

poor  wretch  was  in  torment,  present  and  in  anticipa 
tion,  I  was  the  most  of  that  long  night. 

But  how  soon  do  all  such  superficial  emotions 
evaporate  in  mere  momentary  regrets,  and  leave  the 
blinded  and  hardened  to  return  to  their  accustomed 
folly  and  vicious  pursuits  !  On  I  went,  involving  my 
self  in  sin  more  and  more,  and  as  I  look  back  upon 
this  dreary  and  dark  pathway  of  my  youth,  I  wonder 
at  the  long-suffering  of  God  in  sparing  me,  a  reckless 
sinner  indeed. 


54    FROM  THE  STAGE  COACH  TO  THE  PULPIT. 


CHAPTER  iv. 

COURTSHIP    AND    MARRIAGE. EARLY    MARRIED    LIFE. 

MONG  the  many  youth  of  Bergen  who  congre- 
gated  for  the  purpose  of  dancing  and  other 
amusements,  was  Miss  Almedia  Gifford,  with  whom  I 
had  become  acquainted.  She  was  exceeding  fond  of 
dancing.  She  was  a  great  singer,  and  seemed  to  be 
in  her  element  when  in  the  associations  of  her  young 
companions.  At  all  public  parties  she  was  first  on 
the  floor  to  lead  the  dance,  and  the  last  to  leave  the 
room.  Between  Miss  G.  and  myself  there  was  a 
growing  intimacy ;  that  is,  on  all  or  nearly  all  these 
occasions  I  waited  on  her,  until  the  common  gossip 
of  the  place  among  the  knowing  ones  was,  that  an 
engagement  was  entered  into.  Some  said  one  thing 
and  some  another.  Some  expressed  regrets  that  Al 
media  should  throw  herself  away  on  such  a  reckless, 
rattleheaded  fellow  as  Hi  Stimson.  But  during  all 
this  tittle-tattle  of  the  gossip-makers,  not  a  word  or 
intimation  had  been  exchanged  between  us  about  any 


COURTSHIP  AND  MARRIAGE.  55 

permanent  relations  of  after  life.  But  the  thing  was 
a  fixed  fact  in  the  judgment  of  these  all  wise  persons. 
So  much  so  that  some  of  her  near  relatives  said,  "I 
had  rather  see  her  dressed  for  her  grave  than  for 
the  bridal  chamber."  All  this  coming  to  our  ears 
had  a  slight  tendency  to  irritate  us,  and  so  I  left  that 
place  and  went  to  Palmyra  for  a  short  time,  our  stage 
route  now  being  from  Rochester  to  Palmyra.  Things 
passed  on  till  all  was  quiet  at  Bergen,  but  not  so 
quiet  about  the  regions  of  certain  hearts. 

On  the  llth  of  October,  1825,  my  twenty-first 
birth-day,  I  sat  down  in  a  by-place  and  soon  found 
myself  in  a  reflecting  mood.  My  thoughts  took  a 
direction  something  like  this  :  ' 4 1  am  now  twenty- 
one  years  of  age.  If  I  am  ever  to  reform  in  my  hab 
its,  now  is  my  time.  The  past  has  only  revealed  the 
fact  that  I  am  growing  worse  and  worse.  I  am  pro 
fane  ;  habits  of  intemperance  are  getting  a  fast  hold 
upon  me  ;  a  large  share  of  my  companions  are  not  the 
most  desirable  in  their  conduct  and  character.  What 
the  friends  say  in  Bergen  is  too  true.  I  am  confident 
though,  that  I  possess  the  ability  to  be  a  man  and  a 
gentleman."  And  I  then  and  there  resolved  to  go 
back  to  Bergen  and  conduct  myself  with  a  little  more 
reserve  and  propriety.  So  when  I  got  into  Roches- 


56    FROM  THE  STAGE  COACH  TO  THE  PULPIT. 

ter,  I  effected  an  exchange  with  a  young  brother  of 
mine  who  had  now  become  the  driver  to  Bergen. 
The  same  day  that  I  returned  to  Bergen  was  Thanks 
giving  day,  and  the  youth  of  the  place  were  cele 
brating  it  with  a  ball.  Strange  as  it  may  appear,  this 
was  our  understanding  of  gratitude  to  the  Giver  of 
all  good,  and  our  expression  of  it  was  by  dancing. 

Here  I  met  again  Miss  Gifford,  and  soon  improved 
an  opportunity  to  have  a  little  close  conversation 
with  her  about  the  matter  of  our  previous  intimacy, 
and  the  common  talk  that  had  been  going  the  rounds. 
She  frankly  informed  me  that  much  had  been  said  to 
her  about  me,  and  her  friends  had  prohibited  her 
associating  with  me.  I  then  suggested  an  interview 
to  which  she  consented,  and  a  time  was  appointed,  at 
which  time  we  negotiated  the  matter,  and  on  the 
llth  of  January,  1827,  we  were  united  in  marriage 
at  Bergen. 

In  the  autumn  and  winter  previous  to  our  marriage, 
there  was  in  the  Presbyterian  Church  at  Bergen,  a 
considerable  religious  awakening.  I  believe  not  many 
conversions  were  the  result,  but  the  church  was  much 
improved  in  its  religious  condition,  and  among  those 
who  were  affected  by  Divine  influence,  was  a  young 
man  by  the  name  of  Harry  Everett.  One  evening  I 


COURTSHIP  AND  MARRIAGE.          57 

attended  their  social  meeting ;  and  this  young  man 
arose,  and  in  a  very  feeling  manner  addressed  himself 
to  the  youth  present.  I  returned  from  that  meeting 
to  my  boarding  place  with  deep  and  pungent  convic 
tions,  I  realized  myself  a  sinner  against  God  ;  and 
now  believe  if  some  Christian  friend  had  just  com 
menced  a  course  of  conversation  and  instruction  and 
prayer  with  me,  it  would  have  saved  me  at  least  a 
long  and  severe  career  of  open  rebellion  against  God's 
truth.  I  was  made  sensible  of  the  depravity  of  my 
nature,  and  how  utterly  vain  it  was  for  me  to  hope 
for  reform  while  I  was  without  a  good  hope  in  Christ, 
and  my  heart  unrenewed  by  the  Spirit  of  God.  So 
I  again  procrastinated  the  all-important  matter  of  my 
soul,  to  wrhat  I  considered  a  convenient  season,  which 
never  came.  I  still  persisted  in  my  course  of  sin, 
with  but  little  restraint,  all  the  while  growing  harder 
in  heart,  and  more  confirmed  in  my  bad  habits. 

In  my  connection  for  life  with  the  woman  of  my 
choice,  I  had  a  most  congenial  spirit  as  a  lover  of 
mirth  and  amusement,  but  differing  from  me  in  this 
particular :  She  detested  anything  like  vulgarity 
and  profanity,  and  utterly  detested  all  habits  of 
intemperance.  Poor  girl !  she  little  knew  then  that 
the  very  man  she  had  forsaken  all  fof  was  hastening, 


58        FROM   THE    STAGE    COACH   TO    THE    PULPIT. 

with  rapid  strides,  to  a  full  and  complete  inebriate, 
and  in  a  few  years,  if  left  to  go  on,  would  fill  a 
drunkard's  grave  and  a  drunkard's  undone  eternity. 
The  fact  is,  I  was  already  a  confirmed  drunkard,  in 
all  the  essential  particulars.  True,  I  did  not  get  so 
intoxicated  as  to  stagger  on  the  streets,  or  to  fall 
into  the  gutter.  But  I  was  under  the  power  of  a 
confirmed  and  unrelenting  habit  of  the  constant  use 
of  strong  drink,  though  often  disguised.  During 
the  first  two  years  of  our  marriage,  she  had  the 
worst  evidence  that  her  fate  was  that  of  a  drunkard's 
wife. 

She  possessed  two  important  elements  of  character, 
viz  :  kindness  of  heart  and  resolution  of  purpose. 
When  she  saw  the  sad  evidences  of  her  husband's 
ruin,  she  manifested  the  spirit  of  an  angel  in  manner 
and  in  conversation.  Yes,  I  have  still  in  vivid 
remembrance  her  benignant  look,  as  she  spoke  to 
me  about  my  wayward  course.  Her  resolution  to 
endure  all  the  privation  and  grief,  growing  out  of 
her  connection  with  the  fallen  and  prospectively 
ruined  companion  of  her  youth,  who,  day  by  day, 
was  perfecting  himself  for  unutterable  shame  and 
sorrow,  was  worthy  of  a  saint. 

As  an  illustration  of  the  desperation  and  rapidity 


COURTSHIP   AND   MARRIAGE.  59 

of  my  ruin,  I  will  sketch  to  the  reader  the  following  : 
Soon  after  the  birth  of  our  first  child,  I  removed  to 
Mendon,  the  place  of  my  early  childhood  and  where 
I  had  experienced,  only  a  few  years  previous,  such 

a  conflict  with  my  father  and  Mr.  S ,  as  to  induce 

me  to  leave  my  home  and  the  care  and  counsel  of 
my  mother.  I  came  back  to  Mendon  with  the  osten 
sible  purpose  of  carrying  on  the  cabinet  business. 
Here  I  found  a  large  group  of  young  men  who  had 
been  raised  up  with  me  in  childhood,  now  matured 
into  vigorous  manhood ;  and  many  of  them  had 
made  fearful  advance  in  habits  and  practices  of  vice, 
especially  intemperance.  As  a  matter  of  course,  we 
were  congenial  spirits;  and  "birds  of  a  feather"  will 
"flock  together."  Every  leisure  hour  was  spent  in 
some  place  of  amusement,  at  card  playing  or  dancing, 
or,  what  was  still  more  degrading,  drinking  and 
carousing. 

It  so  happened  during  this  summer,  1828,  that 
the  scarlet  fever  prevailed  in  the  community  to  an 
alarming  and  fatal  extent  in  many  families.  A  large 
share  of  my  time  was  occupied  in  my  shop,  making 
coffins  for  the  dead ;  and  soon  my  own  family  was 
visited  with  this  terrible  scourge.  Our  little  boy, 
then  eight  or  ten  months  old,  was  stricken.  My 


60        FROM    THE    STAGE    COACH   TO   THE   PULPIT. 

wife  was  assisted  by  my  kind-hearted  mother  and 
sister  in  caring  for  the  sick  infant,  while  I  was  occu 
pied  in  my  shop  as  stated,  preparing  those  last 
conveniences  for  the  dead.  I  came  in  one  evening 
from  my  workshop  and  found  my  child  in  no  better 
condition,  and  with  the  sad  evidence  that  but  little 
hope  could  be  relied  on  of  its  recovery.  My  wife 
had  so  long  applied  her  energies  by  night  and  day 
in  a  mother's  care  and  love  for  her  suffering  babe, 
that  I  saw  she  was  unwell  and  nearly  exhausted.  I 
said,  "  Al media,  I  will  step  over  to  the  hotel  a  few 
minutes,  and  then  I  will  sit  up  a  part  of  the  night, 
while  you  get  rest."  So  out  I  went,  and  soon  fell 
into  the  company  of  my  companions,  who  suggested 
a  drink  and  short  hand  at  "  Loo."  I  consented,  and 
down  we  sat  at  the  gambler's  table.  The  excitement 
of  the  game  and  the  fumes  of  the  liquor  soon 
effaced  from  my  mind  my  obligation  to  my  weary 
wife  and  sick  and  suffering  child.  And  so  the 
whole  night  I  remained  away,  or  until  one  of  the 
comrades  said  :  w  Boys,  it's  time  to  quit ;  it's  plump 
three."  I  started  from  the  place  with  amazement, 
and,  with  a  hurried  pace,  arrived  at  my  house, 
where  a  dim  light  was  burning.  And  then  fell  upon 
my  mind,  like  a  thunder-burst,  my  neglect  of  wife, 


COURTSHIP    AND    MAEKIAGE.  61 

of  my  sick  child,  and  my  own  debased  condition. 
As  I  looked  through  the  window,  and  there  saw  my 
pale  and  weary  Almedia  swinging  the  fan  over  her 
babe,  that  was  scorched  and  writhing  with  a  burning 
fever,  oh  !  what  a  mountain-load  of  guilt  and  self- 
reproach  crushed  my  conscience  !  I  was  half  inclined 
to  go  and  conceal  myself  in  some  unknown  place ; 
but  I  advanced  to  the  door  and  silently  turned  the 
latch  ;  but  it  was  fast.  I  then  went  to  the  back  door, 
but  that  was  fast  also.  I  then  knocked  for  admit 
tance.  She  came  softly  and  opened  the  door.  As 
I  came  into  the  room,  I  said  :  "  How  is  the  child?" 
She  replied,  with  a  stifled  voice,  "  No  better." 
There  was  a  solemn  pause.  I  said,  "Almedia, 
come,  you  go  and  lie  down,  and  I  will  take  care  of 
him  until  daylight."  To  which  she  replied,  "  Hiram, 
you  are  in  no  condition  to  take  care  of  this  dying 
child.  You  are  not  able  to  take  care  of  yourself. 
You  are  under  the  influence  of  liquor.  It  does 
seem  to  me,  if  you  loved  your  wife  and  child  as  a 
husband  and  father  should,  you  would  not  have 
remained  away  till  this  late  hour.  Come,  go  and 
lie  down,  and  when  you  are  yourself  I  will  talk 
with  you  about  it."  Oh !  if  a  thousand  thunders 
had  uttered  their  voices  of  condemnation  and  death, 


62        FROM   THE    STAGE    COACH    TO    THE   PULPIT. 

they  would  not  have  struck  greater  consternation  to 
my  withering  soul !  I  felt  my  way  up  stairs  and 
there  lay  me  down,  but  not  to  sleep,  not  to  rest. 
And  as  the  dawn  of  day  and  a  bright  August  sun 
came  into  the  east  window,  as  I  was  recovering  from 
the  effect  of  my  intoxication,  all  seemed  to  join 
with  the  admonition  of  Almedia  and  the  groans  of 
my  suffering  babe ,  to  say  :  rt  Wretch  !  wretch  ! 
wretch  !  You  are,  indeed.  You  are  now  only  fitted 
for  ruin.  How  can  you  ever  look  your  kind-hearted 
wife  in  the  face  again  ?  Is  this  fulfilling  the  solemn 
vow  you  made  to  her  when,  against  the  advice  of 
friends,  she  gave  you  her  hand  and  heart,  and  who 
has  done  all  in  her  power  to  make  you  and  your 
home  happy?  Is  this  the  example  you  are  setting 
before  your  child,  if  God  should  spare  its  life?" 
It  was  a  number  of  days  before  I  fully  recovered 
from  the  dreadful  sense  of  my  outrage  upon  the 
relationships  of  our  home  life. 

In  my  temptation  to  engage  in  drinking  and  card 
playing,  while  my  child  was  so  near  death  and  niy 
dear  wife  so  nearly  exhausted,  I  now  recognize  most 
clearly  the  influence  of  a  personal  devil.  My  utter 
neglect  and  forgetfulness  cannot  be  accounted  for 
even  by  drinking  and  the  excitements  of  gaming  alone. 


COURTSHIP  AND  MARRIAGE.  63 

I  believe  the  devil  had  possession  of  me,  and  oblite 
rated  for  the  time,  home  and  wife  and  child.  Young 
man,  you  had  better  keep  clear  of  the  devil's  church, 
the  drinking  and  gaming  room.  He  always  is  on 
hand  where  his  disciples  congregate.  To  keep  out  of 
his  clutches  you'd  better  keep  out  of  his  places  of 
meeting  with  the  children  of  men.  If  Satan  comes 
also  when  the  sons  of  God  meet  together,  you  may 
be  sure  be  does  so  when  the  sons  of  Belial  come  to 
gether. 

One  of  the  principal  means  that  facilitated  my  deg 
radation  on  this  occasion,  was  a  barrel  of  cider  brandy 
that  my  partner  in  business  and  myself  had  bought, 
and  kept  on  tap  in  the  shop.  You  may  be  sure  we 
had  plenty  of  company  while  the  brandy  lasted,  and 
we  were  expected  to  drink  with  each  one  who  called 
for  the  brandy's  sake.  This  wholesale  provision  for 
drinking,  in  connection  with  the  horrible  night's 
debauch  and  gambling,  led  to  a  little  sober  reflection, 
which  resulted  in  a  secret  resolution  to  stop  drinking 
for  the  short  period  of  four  days.  I  made  the  reso 
lution  during  the  night,  went  into  the  shop  in  the 
morning,  and  worked  until  breakfast  was  ready,  and 
drank  nothing.  Then  felt  a  strange  want  of  some 
thing,  but  could  eat  no  breakfast.  So  by  the  time 


64        FROM   THE    STAGE   COACH   TO   THE   PULPIT. 

the  fourth  day  came,  I  was  all  lassitude,  and  gene 
rally  wanting  in  energy.  I  had  kept  my  secret  pledge 
all  of  four  days,  and  then  returned  again  to  old  habits, 
but  with  a  deep,  penetrating  conviction  :  "This  you 
ought  to  have  continued.  It  is  your  only  hope  of 
salvation  from  all  the  dreadful  consequences  of  in 
temperance." 


A   TURNING   POINT.  65 


CHAPTER  V. 

A  TURNING  POINT — VICTORY  OVER  WHISKY A 

SHOOTING  MATCH ETC. 

MATTERS  thus  passed  on  until  Christmas,  1828. 
There  was  to  be  a  shooting  match  in  the  village 
that  day.  As  I  awoke  in  the  morning  these  thoughts 
were  suggested  to  my  mind  :  "Now  it's  Christmas,  and 
I  shall  go  out  with  my  associates  to-day,  to  join  in  the 
sports  and  dissipations  of  the  holiday.  The  result 
will  be,  I  shall  add  another  pang  to  my  distracted 
and  aching  heart.  I  made  one  half-hearted  effort  to 
abstain  from  drink ;  it  failed  for  the  want  of  deter 
mined,  uncompromising  resolution,  a  will  to  conquer 
or  die.  I  have  fallen  into  the  same  sin  and  shame 
that  I  have  abhorred  in  others.  Here  I  have  a  beau 
tiful  and  kind-hearted  wife  ;  I  have  a  child  that  Heaven 
has  spared  to  us,  while  others  have  been  taken  all 
around  us .  My  dear  mother  and  sisters  are  yet  spared 
to  me,  but  I  fear  only  to  be  brought  to  anguish  and 
shame  by  my  reckless  conduct.  And  now  before  I  get 
up,  I  must  decide  this  all-important  question.  And  I 


66        FROM    THE    STAGE  COACH    TO    THE    PULPIT. 

WILL.  I  WILL  NOT  DRINK  NOR  TASTE  OF  IT.  I  WILL 
NOT  GIVE  IT  TO  OTHERS,  OR  PROCURE  IT  FOR  THEM." 

This  was  at  four  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  Christmas. 
It  was  an  awful  moment.  I  arose  and  went  about 
my  morning  duties,  and  at  the  time  of  the  gathering 
at  the  shooting-match  grounds,  I  put  in  my  appear 
ance. 

My  first  shot  drew  a  turkey.  And  as  the  custom 
was  on  such  occasions,  the  successful  one  was 
expected  to  bring  out  his  bottle ;  and  so  a  number 
cried  out,  "Come,  Hiram,  bring  on  your  ' clear 
ance,'"  as  was  the  phrase.  But  I  said,  "No.  If 
you  don't  get  anything  to  drink  until  you  get  it  from 
me,  you  will  never  drink."  Then  I  made  my  second 
shot,  and  drew  another  turkey.  At  this  they  were 
more  clamorous  than  before,  and  one  cried  out, 
"  There  are  cobwebs  in  our  throats  ! "  I  replied, 
"  If  they  are  not  washed  out  except  by  liquor  that  I 
buy,  young  spiders  will  hatch  out  by  hundreds." 

It  was  enough.  My  companions  knew  by  the  look 
of  my  eye  and  tone  of  my  voice,  that  I  was  not  to 
be  trifled  with. 


A    TURNING   POINT.  67 

EDITOR'S  REMARKS. 

[When  a  man  steps  out  of  his  former  self,  and  turns 
the  scale  in  which  his  past  life  is  in  one  balance  and 
his  future  life  in  the  other,  there  is  something  about 
him  that  forbids  vulgar  familiarity.  Such  a  passage 
in  life  is  of  too  supreme  importance  to  leave  its  hero 
at  the  sport  of  common-going  souls.  They  at  once 
shrink  back.  They  do  not  comprehend  the  solemnity 
of  the  situation,  nor  the  new — new  to  them — mani 
festation  of  human  nature.  For  it  is  within  the 
compass  of  our  strange  organism  to  change  the  whole 
bent  and  issue  of  our  lives  in  a  moment.  Those  who 
think  that  moral  changes  in  man  must  be  wrought 
slowly  like  the  changes  in  man's  physical  nature, 
have  never  thoroughly  comprehended  the  problem 
of  human  life.  All  souls  are  not  capable  of  the 
sudden  transition  from  a  state  of  aimlessness  to  one 
of  unswerving  purpose  ;  from  a  state  of  servitude  to 
any  vice,  or  habit  not  commonly  called  vicious  but 
destructive  of  true  development,  to  a  condition  of 
victorious  self-reliance,  and  of  course  they  are  inca 
pable  of  comprehending  the  idea.  But  a  live  man, 
whose  instincts  are  keen,  whose  glance  can  compre 
hend  a  complicated  situation,  and  whose  resolution 
shrinks  from  no  hazard  and  no  mountain  weight  of 
eflbrt,  can  in  a  moment's  time  become  a  totally  dif 
ferent  man  from  what  he  was,  even  mentally.  It  is 
not  one  in  a  thousand  who  has  the  courage  to  grasp 
this  reversing  lever  and  pull  it  down  at  a  stroke, 
even  with  the  bright  prospect  of  a  total  change  for 
the  better  immediately  before  him.  The  latent 
ability  is  lodged  in  many,  perhaps  all  men,  but  prac 
tically  it  is  used  by  the  very  few.  But  this  does  not 
invalidate  the  truth  that  men — some  men — can  in  a 


68   FEOM  THE  STAGE  COACH  TO  THE  PULPIT. 

pulse-beat,  forever  bid  adieu  to  the  character  they 
have  been  years  in  slowly  building  up,  and  as  sud 
denly  begin  a  career  on  a  different  plan  and  accord 
ing  to  different  principles,  resulting  in  the  growth  of 
a  character  as  different  from  the  former  one  as  Jacob 
was  different  from  Esau,  as  Abel  was  from  Cain. 
Here  is  a  man  of  passionate  nature,  cultivated  by 
years  of  indulgence,  and  worse,  inherited.  His 
speech  continually  betrays  him.  He  has  the  most 
intense  loves  and  hatreds,  the  latter  not  entirely  free 
from  prejudice.  And  yet  he  has  no  patience  with 
prejudice.  His  soul  abhors  mush  and  milk  men. 
He  has  no  patience  with  living  antediluvians.  He 
thinks  the  only  place  they  are  entitled  to  is  in  the 
ground.  Contact  with  them,  or  more  properly, 
against  them,  stirs  his  whole  vehement  nature,  his 
tongue  included.  He  has  no  thoughts,  feelings  or 
words  of  excuse  for  their  last  century  modes.  If  it 
wasn't  wrong,  he  would  banish  the  whole  tribe  to 
some  island,  or  perpetual  "sleepy  hollow,"  or  more 
likely  to  the  ground.  This  man  stops.  Some  one 
in  whom  he  has  unbounded  confidence  may  stop  him. 
He  says,  "I  see  this  fiery  temper  and  tongue  are  the 
bane  of  my  life.  I  could  augment  my  influence  five 
fold  were  I  to  part  company  with  them  for  good." 
The  resolution  js  formed.  The  will  has  reversed 
the  whole  mechanism  of  the  man.  Henceforth  he 
is  patient.  He  can  think  out  an  apology  for  old 
fogy  ism,  if  need  be,  or  for  sly,  plausible  devils, 
under  some  circumstances.  He  can  associate  with 
those  whose  ideas  in  many  respects  are  antagonistic 
to  his  own,  and  yet  not  chafe  himself.  He  can  speak 
peaceably  to  and  of  those  who  stand  on  the  other 
side  of  a  great  dividing  line.  He  is  as  impetuous 


A   TUKNING  POINT.  69 

against  wrong  as  ever,  but  he  is  tolerant  of  slow 
ness  and  feebleness.  He  burns  against  intelligent, 
deliberate  wrong-doing  as  hotly  as  ever.  But 
towards  those  who  are  to  be  pitied  rather  than 
blamed,  even  if  their  presence  is  oppressive,  he  has 
forgiveness  and  tolerance  of  heart  and  tongue.  He 
is  a  self-controlled,  care-taking  man.  He  is  a  new 
man.  His  life  is  keyed  on  a  different  note.  The 
course  and  issue  of  his  existence  are  totally  different. 
What  is  true  in  this  respect  holds  good  when  it  comes 
to  the  conquering  of  a  dominant  habit  that  has  gath 
ered  to  itself  all  the  power  of  the  will.  The  "awful 
moment,"  as  Father  Stimson  calls  it,  comes  when 
the  man  may  liberate  himself.  The  will  summons 
its  energies  and  offers  itself  as  champion  of  the 
enfeebled  nature,  before  making  a  final  surrender  of 
itself.  .  The  issue  is  met  and  passed  in  a  moment. 
The  die  is  cast,  and  the  man  goes  forth,  forever  con 
firmed  in  his  slavery  to  the  habit,  or  forever  free 
from  it.  In  such  a  struggle,  brief  as  it  is  fierce,  one 
wants  no  aid  from  friends.  He  must  be  alone.  It 
is  purely  a  self-conquest.  It  is  an  "  awful  moment." 
And  why  is  it  that  men  will  admit  this  marvelous 
capability  of  human  nature  over  itself,  and  yet 
stagger  at  the  truth  of  Revelation,  that  the  eternal 
God  can  suddenly  change  the  currents  of  a  man's 
moral  nature  ;  can  in  a  moment  conquer  the  opposi 
tion  of  his  selfish  will?  If  we  admit  the  miracle  as 
within  the  scope  of  man's  own  power,  why  deny  a 
similar  though  greater  miracle,  perhaps,  as  within 
the  compass  of  Divine  power  ?  And  as  to  its  fact, 
there  are  personal,  experimental  proofs  of  it  in  every 
community. — ED. 


70   FROM  THE  STAGE  COACH  TO  THE  PULPIT. 

On  the  evening  of  the  day  of  the  shooting-match, 
we  all  repaired  to  the  hotel  to  raffle  for  the  turkeys 
and  other  prizes,  among  which  was  a  fat  beef,  just 
slaughtered.  As  the  evening  passed,  strong  efforts 
were  made  to  induce  me  to  drink  or  treat,  as  I  was 
considered  a  lucky  man  in  shooting  and  raffling,  and 
I  now  had,  in  addition  to  turkeys,  etc.,  a  hind 
quarter  of  the  beef.  But  I  refused  as  persistently 
as  I  had  in  the  day  time.  Then  a  friend, 'who  had 
observed  the  conversation  and  who  was  acquainted 
with  me  from  a  child,  knowing  all  my  reckless 
habits,  spoke  up:  "Boys,  Hi  is  right;  I  have  a 
mind  to  see  how  many  will  join  in  'kegging'  up  for 
a  month?  All  that  will,  step  this  way,  and  I  will 
take  your  names ;  and  a  month  from  to-night  all 
meet  at  my  house,  to  talk  over  the  matter  and  see 
how  we  can  stand  it."  Twelve  put  their  names  to  a 
simple  pledge  not  to  drink  for  thirty  days,  at  the 
end  of  which  time  we  were  to  meet  at  the  residence 
of  Gen.  Cady,  a  man  of  wealth  and  highly  respected, 
though  he  had  long  carried  on  the  distilling  business 
in  that  town.  This  was  the  first  temperance  effort 
in  East  Mendon. 

At  the  expiration  of  the  thirty  days  we  met  at 
the  General's  house.  The  community  had  in  the 


A   TURNING   POINT.  71 

meantime  become  not  a  little  excited  on  what  they 
called  the  "cold  water  question."  That  unhistorical, 
but  not  altogether  uninteresting  group,  is  worthy  of 
a  moment's  scrutiny.  There  were  old  men  who 
had  "  followed  strong  drink  "  from  childhood — blear- 
eyed  and  red-nosed.  There  was  the  temperate 
drinker,  expressing  his  opinion  that  "a  little  was  for 
health."  There  were  the  young  men  and  youth  of 
the  place,  looking  on  curiously  to  see  what  would 
be  the  upshot  of  the  "cold  water  movement."  One 
man  said  he  put  his  name  down  on  Christmas  and 
had  kept  his  pledge  until  that  last  day,  but  would 
not  suffer  again  as  he  had  during  the  month  for  the 
best  farm  in  Mendon ;  and  he  had  stopped  on  his 
way  there  and  improved  his  liberty  by  taking  a 
drink.  He  felt  better.  This  man  died  a  drunkard 
in  Mendon.  I  was  called  upon  to  express  my 
views.  I  said  I  had  been  in  a  commingled  state  of 
mind  and  feeling  during  the  last  thirty  days.  The 
first  ten  days,  everything  went  like  dragging  a  cat 
by  the  tail,  hard  pulling,  with  much  squalling.  But 
for  the  last  twenty  days  everything  was  changed  for 
the  better.  Wife  was  better ;  little  boy  was  better ; 
neighbors  were  all  changed  for  the  better ;  and  the 
world  seemed  to  be  made  on  purpose  to  make  me 


72   FROM  THE  STAGE  COACH  TO  THE  PULPI1. 

and  everybody  else  happy.  I  knew  of  but  one 
thing  as  a  drawback  to  keep  ns  from  all  being 
happy — the  devil  in  the  shape  of  whisky.  Forty 
more  added  their  names  that  evening,  some  for 
a  month,  others  for  a  year.  Ethan  Allen,  a 
young  man  about  my  own  age,  joined  for  "ninety- 
nine  years."  I  was  not  to  be  outdone  by  him,  and 
put  my  name  down  for  one  hundred. 

This  move  was  the  foundation  of  subsequent  events 
not  looked  for  by  me,  or  remotely  anticipated  by 
others.  My  attention  was  soon  arrested  by  an  un 
common  concern  of  spirit  about  myself  as  a  sinner  in 
the  sight  of  God.  My  mind  was  never  before  so 
directed  to  the  great  fact.  It  followed  me  by  day  and 
night.  I  resorted  to  every  expedient  to  dissipate 
these  unwelcome  and  melancholy  impressions.  I  had 
no  inclination  to  attend  the  meetings  in  the  commu 
nity,  and  still  I  felt  a  kind  of  compelling  power  to 
attend,  that  I  could  not  resist.  I  assumed  the  office 
of  critic,  making  remarks  about  Christians  and  their 
manner  of  praying,  speaking  and  singing.  Some 
times  I  would  attend  the  Baptist  meeting,  and  then 
pretend  that  I  was  disgusted  with  their  order  of  con 
ducting  worship  ;  and  especially  disgusted  with  Rev. 
E.  Weaver,  the  pastor  of  that  church. 


A   TURNING   POINT.  73 

I  would  mimic  him,  by  getting  a  crowd  together 
and  haranguing  them  in  a  mocking  manner,  and  by 
paraphrasing  the  hymns  sung  at  the  Baptist  meeting. 
Thus  I  went  on  from  bad  to  worse,  until  one  Sunday 
I  went  to  hear  Mr. Weaver,  when  his  text  was  "Who 
for  a  morsel  of  meat,  sold  his  birthright."  (Heb., 
xii.  16.)  The  very  announcement  of  the  text  meant 
me ;  all  the  illustrations  meant  me ;  and  when  he 
made  the  application,  I  was  quite  positive  that  he 
meant  to  insult  me,  and  that  some  one  had  told  him 
all  about  me,  and  my  conduct  was  all  known  to  him. 
I  went  out  of  the  house  quite  in  a  rage,  and  expressed 
to  one  of  the  members  my  hatred  of  the  man  that 
would  single  me  out  before  a  large  congregation,  in 
the  way  he  had  that  morning.  The  friend  replied 
that  he  presumed  that  Mr.  Weaver  knew  nothing 
about  me  and  that  no  one  had  told  him  a  lisp  about 
me.  The  same  friend  came  to  me  in  a  few  days  and 
said  :  "I  spoke  to  the  Elder  about  that  sermon,  and 
he  says  he  did  not  know  you  were  in  the  congrega 
tion,  and  had  no  knowledge  of  you,  only  that  you 
were  like  other  young  men  in  the  village,  ' a  common 
sinner  on  the  devil's  common/  " 

All  this  while  my  distress  of  mind  continued,  and 
every  shift  I  made  for  relief  only  increased  my  horror 


74   FKOM  THE  STAGE  COACH  TO  THE  PULPIT. 

of  soul,  until  at  last  this  thought  impressed  me,  that 
I  had  committed  the  unpardonable  sin,  and  I  had 
now  better  give  myself  up  to  sin  and  the  enjoyment 
of  life  the  best  I  could ;  I  had  gone  beyond  all 
reasonable  expectation  of  deliverance  from  sin.  The 
Spirit's  influences  had  left  me  forever,  and  I  was  just 
as  much  damned  as  if  I  was  already  in  hell ;  and  if  I 
would  only  go  back  to  my  cups  and  old  associates 
again,  I  might  enjoy  life  for  a  while  at  least.  But 
damned  I  must  be,  damned  in  the  end  to  all  eternity. 

The  effect  of  this  temptation  was,  that  instead  of 
being  led  back  to  my  old  companions,  their  company 
and  presence  were  made  all  the  more  disgusting  to 
me ;  so  that  I  resolved  to  keep  out  of  their  way, 
and  seek  seclusion  from  all  society.  I  had  made 
two  or  three  efforts  to  pray,  but  it  seemed  like 
solemn  mockery,  and  only  aggravated  my  distress. 

One  evening  as  I  came  from  my  work,  my  wife 
said  we  needed  something  from  the  store,  and  I  at 
once  started  to  obtain  it.  As  I  came  near  the  store, 
the  thought  of  my  resolve  not  to  put  myself  in  the 
way  of  my  old  associates,  came  to  me,  and  so  I 
passed  by  the  store  to  see  if  any  of  them  were  in. 
If  so,  I  would  return  without  the  article.  I  saw 
the  store  was  empty,  and  went  in.  But  no  sooner 


A   TURNING   POINT.  75 

had  I  got  into  the  room  than  in  came  Mr.  U.  T. 
James,  the  hotel  keeper.  I  at  once  turned  my  face 
from  him,  determined  I  would  not  sin  any  more  by 
joining  with  him  in  ridicule  of  sacred  things.  I  had 
no  sooner  thought  it  than  he  came  up  to  me,  saying 
in  a  bantering,  sneering,  devilish  tone,  "Well, 
Hiram,  I  understand  you  are  crying  '  Abba  Father.'  " 
My  first  impression  was  to  deny  it  by  cursing  and 
swearing.  The  next  impression,  as  quick  as  thought, 
was,  "Confess  it  and  confess  Christ."  I  replied, 
"  Mr.  James,  it  is  time  I  cried  for  mercy  and  relief 
from  sin.  You  and  all  of  us  as  sinners  need  to  cry 
to  God  to  be  merciful  to  us."  He  at  once  turned 
as  pale  as  ashes  and  trembled  in  every  muscle,  while 
George  Allen,  the  clerk  in  the  store,  looked  at  me 
with  blank  astonishment. 

Then  something  seemed  to  say  in  a  superhuman 
whisper,  "Now  go  and  pray,  and  you  shall  be  heard 
in  heaven,  and  Jesus  will  relieve  you  of  all  your 
burden  and  apply  His  blood  to  cleanse  your  pollu 
tion  and  make  you  whole."  Away  I  went  to  my 
home,  only  stopping  long  enough  to  leave  the  article 
on  the  table,  and  hurried  to  the  barn,  behind  which 
I  kneeled  and  opened  my  mouth  in  confession  and 
prayer  to  God.  And  O,  such  relief!  O,  such  joy  ! 


76   FROM  THE  STAGE  COACH  TO  THE  PULPIT. 

O,  such  views  of  Christ  and  of  the  plan  of  salva 
tion  !  And  what  a  debasing  sense  of  myself,  of  my 
misspent  life,  of  my  awful  sins  against  God  and  His 
holy  law ! 

I  at  once  went  into  the  house  and  exclaimed, 
"  Almedia,  God  for  Christ's  sake  has  had  mercy  upon 
your  poor,  miserable  husband."  And  to  my  mother 
I  said,  "  Your  son  that  was  dead,  is  alive  ;  was  lost, 
is  found."  Soon  the  Christian  neighbors  came  rush 
ing  into  my  humble  cottage,  and  expressed  their 
gratitude  to  God  in  hymns  of  praise,  and  the  prayer 
of  thanksgiving  to  Jesus  the  Savior  of  sinners.  At 
midnight,  we  closed  the  delightful  exercise  by  singing 
that  old  hymn,  now  found  only  in  books  that  are  out 
of  print : — 

"  Away  my  unbelieving  fears ; 
Fear  shall  no  more  in  me  have  place. 
My  Savior  doth  not  yet  appear ; 
He  hides  the  brightness  of  His  face. 
And  shall  I  therefore  let  him  go, 
And  basely  to  the  tempter  yield? 
No !  in  the  strength  of  Jesus,  No ! 
I  never  will  give  up  my  shield." 

That  was  my  birth  night.     The  Kingdom  of  God 

had  come  down  to  me.     I  was  a  new  man  in  Christ. 

After  this  first  morning,  I  had  an  opportunity  to 


A   TUKNING   POINT.  77 

receive  the  congratulations  and  advice  of  not  a  few 
veteran  Christians  of  the  different  denominations  in 
the  place, — among  them,  Dea.  Barrett  and  DeWolf, 
of  the  Baptist,  and  Hon.  Timothy  Barnard  and 
Deacon  Ezra  Sheldon,  of  the  Presbyterian  Church, 
and  a  large  company  of  young  converts,  who  had, 
within  a  year  or  two,  been  brought  to  a  knowledge 
of  the  truth.  I  commenced  attending  the  social 
gatherings  of  the  new  company,  who  assembled  for 
the  purpose  of  mutual  conference  and  prayer — that 
is,  the  company  was  new  to  me,  and  I  found  myself 
astonished  at  the  perfect  contrast  between  what  I 
heard,  what  I  saw,  and,  more  than  all,  what  I  felt 
now  and  only  a  few  days  before  in  the  society  of  my 
old  cronies.  Only  a  short  time  before,  I  hated 
these  men,  now  I  loved  them ;  once  I  could  not 
endure  to  listen  to  their  addresses  in  such  meetings, 
but  now  I  was  interested  like  a  charm  in  all  they 
said,  in  every  hymn  sung.  And,  although  I  felt 
weak  and  insufficient,  yet  I  desired  to  bear  some 
part,  though  humble,  in  the  worship  of  God.  I 
felt  it  was  a  special  obligation  resting  on  me  to 
confess  Christ  in  public  and  in  private.  Wherever 
I  went,  whoever  I  saw,  Christian  or  not,  I  either 
expressed  my  new  love  for  Christ,  or  rather  His  old 


78        PROM   THE    STAGE    COACH   TO   THE   PULPIT. 

for  me,  or  I  invited  some  poor  fellow-sinner  to  go 
with  me  to  "Mount  Zion." 

Although  I  expected  to  join  the  Presbyterian 
Church,  yet  I  knew  no  difference  in  my  love 
between  that  and  the  Baptist  Church.  Christian 
men  and  women  were  now  the  excellent  ones  of  the 
earth  to  me  ;  and  I  was  just  as  much  at  home  in  one 
meeting  as  the  other.  I  soon  discovered,  however, 
that  Almedia  had  no  relish  for  the  Baptists ;  and, 
joined  as  she  was  by  my  relatives  in  this  opposition 
to  them,  it  became  a  source  of  great  irritation  to 
her  and  my  sisters  whenever  I  attended  one  of  the 
Baptist  meetings.  And  they  commenced  paying  me 
off  in  the  same  coin,  with  compound  interest,  for 
my  ridicule  of  the  Baptists.  They  would  put 
themselves  energetically  at  work  to  invent  some 
caustic  joke  at  my  expense  :  calling  me,  for  instance, 
"the  Weaver  sprout  of  the  last  growth;"  "the 
second  edition  of  Elder  Weaver,  abridged  and  bound 
in  calf;"  "my  dear  Elder  Hiram-"  "Brother 
Stimson  ;"  "Our  Elder,"  etc. 

But  they  soon  found  that  this  was  all  useless,  for 
the  same  grace  manifested  to  turn  the  current  of 
my  affections  from  error  to  truth,  from  hatred  to 
love,  from  sin  to  holiness,  could  not  be  moved  by 


A   TURNING   POINT.  79 

any  mere  scoffing  and  silly  laughing  ridicule.  I  had 
been  too  well  schooled  in  that  kind  of  appliance, 
and  too  perfectly  understood  its  powerless  effect 
against  the  spirit  of  Jesus  and  the  love  of  God 
tilling  my  heart.  I  had  tested  it  in  the  times  of 
ignorance  and  opposition  to  Christ,  "whereof  I  was 
now  ashamed." 

This  was  soon  changed  for  more  stern  opposition 
against  not  only  the  Baptists,  but  against  all  vital 
godliness  and  zealous  Christians  of  every  name.  But 
in  the  midst  of  it  all  I  came  to  the  conclusion  :  "This 
is  all  right  in  the  Divine  economy  of  salvation.  The 
Master  means  to  show  me  how  cruel  I  have  been  in 
pouring  contempt  on  Christians,  in  ridiculing  them 
to  their  faces,  and  how  wicked  I  have  been  in  my 
profane  conduct  and  open  opposition  to  Him  and  His 
anointed  ones." 

After  a  few  weeks  had  passed,  my  attention  was 
called  to  the  duty  of  connecting  myself  with  some 
church.  I  need  church-fellowship  for  my  own  wel 
fare,  and  in  order  to  increase  my  influence  over  my 
fellow  men.  But  above  all,  I  saw  it  was  a  positive 
command  of  the  great  Head  of  the  Church. 


80       FROM   THE    STAGE   COACH   TO    THE    PULPIT. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

A  SEARCH   FOR  A   CHURCH. 

"~\  |O  one  had  said  a  word  to  me,  however,  con- 
I  *  cerning  the  matter,  but  I  knew  that  I  needed 
the  advice  of  intelligent  Christians.  So  when  on  the 
Sabbath,  the  pastor  of  the  Presbyterian  church  gave 
notice  of  the  preparatory  lecture  on  the  following 
Friday,  and  also  stated  the  session  would  meet  imme 
diately  after  the  lecture,  to  receive  applications  for 
membership,  and  also  stated  that  on  the  next  Sabbath 
the  ordinance  of  baptism  would  be  administered  to 
infants  and  adults,  I  immediately  said  to  myself:  "I 
will  improve  this  opportunity  and  offer  myself  as  a 
candidate  for  membership ;"  not  for  baptism,  for  I 
supposed  that  I  had  been  baptized.  "I  will  also 
bring  my  children — we  now  had  two — forward  for 
baptism."  This  I  expected  to  do,  as  much  as  I 
expected  to  live  till  the  next  Friday  and  Sabbath. 
On  Monday  morning  the  pastor  of  the  Presbyterian 
church  called  upon  me  at  my  shop,  and  after  making 
a  few  inquiries  about  my  hope  in  Christ,  he  asked  if 


A   SEARCH   FOR   A   CHURCH.  81 

my  children  had  ever  been  baptized  and  if  I  intended 
to  present  them  at  the  administration  of  the  ordi 
nance  ?  I  replied  that  they  had  never  been  baptized, 
and  said  I  would  present  them,  if  I  could  get  the 
consent  of  my  wife.  After  a  few  more  remarks  upon 
the  subject,  the  minister  went  out. 

There  was  at  work  in  the  same  shop,  John 
Woodbury,  before  named  in  this  narrative,  a 
staunch  Baptist.  He  heard  my  conversation  with 
Mr.  Anderson,  the  minister;  so,  when  he  had  gone, 
Mr.  Woodbury  came  to  me  and  said  :  "  Brother 
Hiram,  did  I  hear  you  say  that  you  intended  to  have 
your  children  baptized  next  Sunday?"  I  replied 
that  such  was  my  intention.  He  continued  :  "Do 
you  think  it  to  be  your  duty?"  "Certainly,  I  do." 
"Well,  Brother  Stimson,  if  it  is  your  duty,  it  must 
also  be  my  duty,  must  it  not?"  I  replied :  "Of 
course  it  is  ;  and  here  is  where  I  think  you  Baptists 
are  in  error,  in  not  having  your  children  consecrated 
to  God  in  baptism."  He  said:  "If  this  is  com 
manded  in  the  Bible,  we  are  in  error,  indeed."  I  at 
once  replied:  "Well,  it  is  commanded  in  the 
Bible ;  I  can  show  it  to  you  in  ten  minutes,  or 
could  if  I  had  the  Bible  here.  I  will  look  it  up 
when  I  go  home  to  dinner,  and  show  it  to  you  this 


82    FROM  THE  STAGE  COACH  TO  THE  PULPIT. 

afternoon."  "Very  well,  when  you  do  so  I  will 
have  all  my  children  baptized."  "But,"  said  I, 
"Elder  Weaver  will  not  baptize  them."  He  replied  : 
"Well,  then,  I  will  join  the  Presbyterian  Church, 
and  have  Mr.  Anderson  do  it."  I  now  thought,  "I 
have  caught  him  ;  "  for  I  supposed  that  I  could  find 
it,  or  rather  that  my  mother  could,  and  I  knew  that 
the  Presbyterian  Church  would  be  glad  to  receive  so 
good  and  worthy  a  man  as  John  Woodbury.  When 
I  went  home  to  dinner,  I  took  up  the  Bible,  at  the 
same  time  relating  to  mother,  who  was  then  present 
at  my  house,  the  conversation  with  Brother  Wood- 
bury  and  the  proposition  he  had  made,  adding,  "and 
now,  mother,  let  us  find  it  and  see  if  he  will  stancl 
to  his  proposal."  Upon  which,  she  adjusted  her 
glasses  to  her  eyes,  saying  at  the  same  time  :  "Well, 
the  Bible  is  all  full  of  it."  So  we  sat  down  together 
to  find  this  very  easy  and  common  command  upon 
all  parents.  I  of  course  depended  on  her,  as  I  was 
ignorant  of  the  Bible  on  all  questions.  She  looked 
here  and  then  there — first  in  the  Old,  then  in  the 
New  Testament.  Soon  dinner  was  ready.  "Come," 
said  I,  "let  us  sit  down  to  the  table,  and  after  dinner 
we  will  find  it."  She  replied,  "No,  you  sit  down 
and  eat  your  dinner,  and  I  will  find  it,  so  that  you 


A   SEAKCH   FOB   A   CHTJRCH.  83 

can  carry  it  back  to  Mr.  Woodbury."  But  at  the 
conclusion  of  our  meal,  the  said  precept  or  example 
either  was  not  forthcoming ;  and  still  the  dear  old 
lady  was  confident  the  good  Book  was  full  of  it, 
and  she  could  find  it  by  the  time  I  came  back  to 
my  tea. 

I  went  to  the  shop  feeling  a  little  puzzled  what  to 
say  to  my  dear  friend  Woodbury,  if  he  should  ask 
for  it ;  but  not  a  word  was  said  by  him,  and  I  was 
sure  I  should  not  say  anything  if  he  did  not,  and  so 
the  afternoon  passed  away.  At  the  tea  hour,  I 
hastened  home  to  get  the  required  evidence  on  infant 
baptism.  As  I  came  in.  I  saw  the  Bible  was  put 
away,  and  mother  was  employed  knitting  as  usual. 
"Well,  mother,''  said  I,  "have  you  found  the  pas 
sage  on  infant  baptism,  yet?"  She  replied,  "No;  I 
can't  find  it.  I  thought  it  was  in  Ezekiel  or  Jere 
miah.  I  have  forgotten  just  where  it  is,  but  I  know 
well  enough  it  is  in  the  Bible.  But,  Hiram,  let  me 
say  to  you,  you  had  better  keep  away  from  those 
Baptists ;  they  are  always  dogging  converts  about 
baptism."  The  manner  and  spirit  in  which  it  was 
said  at  once  indicated  to  me  a  little  distrust  about 
the  existence,  in  fact,  of  the  thing  I  was  in  pursuit 
of.  But  I  replied,  "Mother,  John  Woodbury  is  a 


84        FROM   THE    STAGE    COACH   TO   THE   PULPIT. 

candid  and  pious  Christian  man,  and  the  request  he 
has  made  of  me  is  a  reasonable  one  ;  he  has  used  no 
influence  to  proselyte  me,  nor  has  any  other  Baptist, 
to  anything  but  the  truth  and  the  salvation  of  my 
poor  soul  to  Christ.  And  now,  mother,  I  am  not 
going  blindfold  one  single  step.  I  have  been  a 
miserable,  deluded  sinner  all  my  life,  and  my  eyes 
begin  to  be  opened,  and  my  prayer  is  for  more  light. 
I  shall  search  the  Bible  for  myself,  and  what  that 
requires  of  me  I  shall  do  \\ith  Divine  assistance. 
Without  it  I  shall  fail  and  stumble ;  with  it  I  am 
confident  of  ultimate  success  and  correct  direction." 
She  said  I'd  better  go  and  see  Mr.  Anderson ;  he 
would  tell  me  all  about  it  and  find  the  passage  for 
me.  I  replied,  "It  will  be  a  pleasure  for  me  to  do 
so,  and  I  will  this  evening."  So  off  I  started  to 
converse  with  the  Pastor  of  the  Presbyterian  church. 
He  received  me  very  kindly,  and  made  many  valua 
ble  suggestions  about  my  future  prospects,  and  the 
delight  it  gave  him  to  know  that  I  had  seen  my  folly 
and  turned  to  God,  exhorting  me  to  fidelity  irrmy 
Christian  course.  I  then  said  to  him  that  I  was  in 
perplexity  about  infant  baptism,  and  informed  him 
what  had  taken  place  that  day,  since  I  saw  him  in 
the  morning  at  the  shop.  After  a  minute's  pause, 


A   SEARCH   FOR   A   CHURCH.  85 

he  said,  and  with  some  hesitation,  "Mr.  Stimson, 
that  is  a  subject  you  had  better  leave  to  take  care  of 
itself.  You  come  right  along  and  put  yourself 
within  the  church,  and  this  whole  subject  will  adjust 
itself  to  your  mind  without  any  perplexity,  in  a 
little  time."  So  back  I  trudged  through  the  dark, 
made  doubly  so  to  me  since  I  had  not  got  the  pas 
sages  on  infant  baptism,  with  which  to  meet  Brother 
Woodbury.  When  I  arrived  at  home,  I  told  mother 
of  my  ill  success  with  the  pastor  in  my  search  after 
light,  and  sat  down  with  my  Testament  to  see  what 
I  could  gain  from  that  to  help  me  out  of  my  trouble. 
In  the  morning,  as  I  resumed  my  employment  in  the 
shop,  Brother  Woodbury  came  along  to  my  bench 
and  said,  "  Well,  Hiram,  I  have  waited  twenty-four 
hours  for  that  Scripture  on  infant  baptism ;  have 
you  found  it  yet?"  My  reply  was  in  the  negative, 
of  course,  but  qualified  by  the  remark  that  "  mother 
had  been  looking  in  the  Old  Testament  for  it,  and 
that  I  was  looking  in  the  New,  and  if  it  was  there, 
we  should  find  it."  I  saw  a  slight  smile  irradiate 
from  his  face  as  he  said,  "  Well,  you  have  got  the 
best  part  of  it.  Your  mother  will  look  in  vain  in 
the  Old  Testament  for  baptism,  but  you  will  find 
it  is  a  very  plain  subject  in  the  New  Testament. 
There's  not  a  word  of  it  in  the  Old." 


86   FROM  THE  STAGE  COACH  TO  THE  PULPIT. 

Here  the  conversation  ceased,  and  during  the  day 
I  resolved  on  two  things ;  first,  I  will  not  join  any 
church  until  I  see  my  duty  made  plain  from  the  Bible 
on  the  subject  of  baptism.  Second,  I  will  take  the 
New  Testament  as  my  only  guide  and  counsel  in  all 
religious  faith  and  practices.  When  I  had  made 
these  two  resolves,  I  felt  such  a  confidence  in  Christ 
and  His  blessed  Spirit  as  I  had  never  experienced 
before,  and  from  that  day  I  commenced  the  study  of 
the  Bible,  with  an  intensity  and  determination  to 
know  all  the  truth,  but  without  the  least  expectation 
of  ever  being  a  Baptist,  or  thinking  them  correct  in 
faith  or  practice  ;  no  more  than  I  had  of  supposing 
Mahomrned  was  right.  I  really  expected  to  find 
sprinkling  and  pouring  as  the  common,  if  not  the 
only  act  for  the  ordinance.  But  three  short  weeks 
revealed  to  me,  and  to  my  utter  surprise,  that  I  was 
mistaken.  My  investigation  was  carried  on  in  this 
manner  without  any  assistance  from  Baptists  or  Pedo- 
baptists :  I  commenced  at  Matthew,  first  chapter, 
and  first  verse,  and  continued  through  by  course,  to 
the  last  chapter  and  verse  of  Revelation,  marking 
every  passage  on  baptism,  pouring  and  sprinkling. 
When  I  had  finished  I  reviewed  the  whole,  to  find 
the  results.  I  found  the  words  baptism,  baptizing 


A    SEARCH    FOR    A    CHURCH.  87 

and  baptized  eighty-one  times ;  pour,  pouring  and 
poured,  seventeen  times  ;  sprinkle,  sprinkling  and 
sprinkled,  seven  times.  Where  the  subject  of  bap 
tism  was  alluded  to,  if'  qualified  at  all,  it  was  by 
"going  into  the  water,"  "coming  up  out  of  the  water," 
"being  buried  with  Christ  in  baptism,"  "baptized 
into  Christ,"  etc.,  etc.  The  word  pour  was  quali 
fied,  but  had  no  connection  with  baptism  whatever ; 
and  the  same  held  true  in  regard  to  the  word 
sprinkling. 

Just  as  I  had  closed  this  investigation  in  my  own 
simple  and  private  way,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Anderson 
preached  a  sermon  on  baptism,  taking  for  his  text, 
Acts  viii.  38  :  "And  they  went  down  both  into  the 
water,  both  Phillip  and  the  eunuch,  and  he  baptized 
him."  The  first  sentence  of  the  sermon  was :  "This 
refers  to  the  apostolic  mode  of  baptism  by  immer 
sion,"  and  he  went  on  to  say,  "No  reasonable  doubt 
can  be  entertained  but  that  Jesus  of  Nazareth  was 
thus  baptized  in  the  river  Jordan ;"  but  he  undertook, 
with  a  great  show  of  words,  to  prove  that  other  modes 
were  equally  as  well.  It  was  indeed  a  Godsend  to 
me.  My  duty  was  now  becoming  plain.  This  first 
remark  of  the  preacher,  and  my  own  silent  investi 
gations,  left  but  little  doubt  as  to  what  was  the  true 


88          FKOM  THE  STAGE  COACH  TO  THE  PULPIT. 

course  for  me  to  pursue.  All  this  while  nothing  had 
been  said  to  me  on  the  subject  by  any  one.  So  the 
Monday  evening  following  this  discourse  of  Mr. 
Anderson,  I  walked  over  to  see  him  unbeknown  to 
any  one. 

I  have  so  far  neglected  to  state  one  important  fact 
in  my  early  history,  which  is  this :  While  my 
parents  resided  at  Saratoga  Springs,  and  while  I  was 
an  infant,  I  was  taken  seriously  ill,  and  my  parents, 
fearing  I  was  about  to  die,  called  in  a  Presbyterian 
minister,  who  sprinkled  me  for  baptism.  I  had 
always  depended  on  this  as  sufficient  until  within 
the  past  three  weeks,  but  now  all  my  dependence 
on  my  infant  sprinkling  was  gone.  I  found  Mr. 
Anderson  in  his  study,  and  he  gave  me  a  hearty 
welcome  and  at  once  inquired:  "Well,  Brother 
Stimson,  did  you  get  any  new  light  on  the  subject 
of  baptism?  "  I  readily  answered,  "Yes  ;  I  am  glad 
to  know  that  your  sermon  and  my  investigations  of 
the  New  Testament  convince  me  that  the  apostles 
immersed,  and  that  the  Savior  was  baptized  by 
immersion  in  the  river  Jordan ;  and  my  business 
here  to-night  is  to  see  if  you  will  immerse  me."  "  I 
will  do  so,"  he  replied,  "if  you  cannot  be  satisfied 
with  anything  but  immersion  and  you  have  never 


A   SEARCH   FOR   A   CHURCH.  89 

been  baptized  by  any  other  mode."  I  replied,  "I 
must  confess  to  you  the  truth ;  "  and  I  proceeded  to 
give  him  the  history  of  my  being  sprinkled  when  an 
infant.  He  then  said  to  me,  "Such  being  the  facts, 
I  cannot  immerse  you,  as  I  would  consider  it  sacri 
lege  so  to  do."  "  What  can  I  do  then?  "  I  inquired. 
"  You  can  join  the  Baptists ;  they  will  immerse  you 
on  profession  of  your  faith,  notwithstanding  your 
previous  baptism."  To  this  I  objected  :  "I  cannot 
do  that ;  they  are  close-communion."  "  Close-com 
munion  !  Pooh !  They  are  no  more  close-com 
munion  than  we  are.  We  take  no  one  into  the 
Church  until  he  has  been  baptized,  neither  do  the 
Baptists ;  the  only  difference  being  in  what  we 
consider  baptism."  This  opened  the  matter  in  an 
entirely  new  light  to  my  mind  and  completely 
changed  my  views  upon  the  question,  and  I  said  to 
him :  "  I'll  go  home  and  think  upon  this  matter." 
As  I  walked  along,  I  could  but  admire  the  man  for 
his  magnanimity  and  generosity.  The  next  morning, 
I  called  upon  Deacon  Woodbury,  a  brother  to  John, 
and  asked  him  a  few  questions  about  the  Baptist 
Church  policy,  of  their  faith  and  practice ;  and 
after  getting  a  candid  exposition  of  the  matter,  I 
informed  him  of  what  I  had  been  doing  the  past 


90   FHOM  THE  STAGE  COACH  TO  THE  PULFIT. 

three  weeks,  to  which  he  made  a  remark  of  com 
mendation  and  said  :  "  Move  on,  Brother  Stimson, 
with  caution;  you  are  taking  the  right  direction, 
and  if  you  keep  near  the  Cross,  all  will  result  for 
your  advancement  in  the  Divine  life." 

But  now  the  most  trying  point  in  all  this  conflict 
was  yet  to  come.  The  opposition  of  my  wife, 
connected  as  it  was  with  that  of  my  other  relatives 
and  friends,  against  the  Baptist  denomination,  would 
be  no  surface  agitation,  I  was  satisfied;  and  how  to 
broach  the  matter  in  such  a  way  as  to  evince  a 
Christian  spirit  and  not  excite  a  disposition  to 
contend,  was  a  question  of  the  first  moment  to  me. 
I  had  ample  time  for  reflection.  From  Tuesday 
morning  to  Friday  evening,  this  subject  was  con 
stantly  on  my  mind.  After  supper  on  Friday 
evening,  I  said  to  Almedia,  my  wife,  "Come,  go 
along  with  me  to  the  Baptist  covenant  meeting 
to-morrow  afternoon."  "Not  I!"  was  her  prompt 
reply.  "Why  not?"  I  inquired.  "What  do  you 
desire  to  go  there  for?"  she  asked.  "I  am  going 
to  join  the  Baptist  Church,  if  they  will  accept  me," 
was  my  quiet  answer.  "  You  join  the  Baptists ! 
Well,  you  will  go  alone,  then."  At  this  moment 
my  mother  came  in,  and  Almedia  saved  me  the 


A   SEARCH  FOR   A   CHURCH.  91 

trouble  of  informing  her.  My  mother  commenced 
weeping  and  talking  at  the  same  time.  "Well, 
Hiram,  you  are  the  only  child  of  mine  that  has 
experienced  religion,  and  I  was  in  hopes  you  would 
feel  it  your  duty  to  join  the  Presbyterian  Church, 
and  I  think  you  are  hasty  in  the  matter,  and  have 
been  influenced  by  Elder  Weaver  and  the  Wood- 
burys."  "Not  so,"  said  I;  "I  have  not  exchanged 
a  word  with  Elder  Weaver  on  the  subject  of 
baptism ;  and  as  to  the  Woodburys,  all  that  has 
been  communicated  to  me  is  this  :  John  Woodbury 
asked  me  to  find  infant  baptism  in  the  Bible,  and 
you  and  I  have  made  an  effort  and  could  not 
produce  it.  You  then  sent  me  to  Mr.  Anderson, 
and  he  could  not  produce  it;  and  last  Monday 
evening,  I  told  him  my  convictions,  and  he  says  I 
am  a  Baptist,  and  as  an  honest  Christian  minister 
has  advised  me  to  join  them,  and  the  Lord  Jesus 
helping  me,  I  shall  do  it.  I  want  to  do  right,  and 
I  am  confident  the  Bible  directs  in  this  way."  This 
last  remark  put  an  end  to  the  conversation  for  the 
present. 


92   FROM  THE  STAGE  COACH  TO  THE  PULPIT. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

THE   CHURCH  FOUND. 

/TV  HE  next  day,  in  the  afternoon,  the  covenant 
•JL  meeting  convened,  and  a  large  concourse  of 
people  assembled.  Among  the  number,  were  Heber 
C.  Kimball  and  Brigham  Young.  Brigham  spoke.  At 
that  time  he  had  left  the  Methodists,  and  belonged 
to  what  were  called  the  Giffordites.  He  was  quite 
fervent,  and  spoke  with  much  feeling  and  effect.  He 
was  regarded  as  stronger  in  heart  than  in  head.  His 
faith  and  piety  were  counted  of  more  force  than  his 
intellect.  Heber  C.  Kimball,  on  the  other  hand,  was 
respected  as  a  man  of  much  more  mental  power,  but 
not  of  great  devotion  in  comparison  with  his  asso 
ciate,  Young. 


[A  recent  interview  with  Brigham  Young,  on  the 
part  of  the  editor,  in  company  with  Rev.  E.  P.  Ham 
mond,  letters  of  introduction  being  given  us  by 
Father  Stimson,  satisfied  him  that  this  estimate  of 
him  by  Father  Stimson  at  the  time  of  his  conversion 
would  require  modification,  and  much  of  it,  to  be 


THE    CHURCH   FOUND.  93 

applicable  to  him  now.  His  piety  can  hardly  be 
spoken  of  as  dominant.  His  will  can.  His  ambition 
can.  His  selfism  can.  His  power  overmen  can.  His 
early  simplicity  of  heart  and  devotion  have  certainly 
deserted  him.  A  more  Jesuitical,  autocratic  ruler 
of  men,  cannot  be  found  on  the  globe.  Men  change. 
Brigham  is  a  puzzle ;  and  Mormonism  is  puzzling. 
The  latter  because  of  the  former.  Men  who  have 
known  him  longest,  acknowledge  that  they  know  the 
least  about  him.  He  is  fearfully  and  wonderfully 
made  ;  especially  the  former.  And  yet  he  will  talk 
to  you  with  the  greatest  apparent  relish,  of  pure  and 
undefiled  religion.  Abandonment  of  principle  is 
followed  by  either  open  wickedness,  or  habitual 
hypocrisy.  Brigham  is  an  exception :  in  his  case 
it  has  been  followed  by  both. — ED.] 


At  the  meeting  referred  to,  thirty-one  converts 
related  their  experience  to  the  church,  and  the  next 
day  (the  Sabbath)  they  were  immersed  in  the 
likeness  of  Christ's  death  and  resurrection,  and 
among  them  was  myself.  A  day  never  to  be  for 
gotten  by  me.  The  Baptist  church  in  Mendon  then 
numbered  about  four  hundred,  a  united  and  happy 
people.  Their  zeal  and  devotion  were  known  in  all 
the  land.  God  was  with  them  in  the  power  of  the 
Spirit.  My  new  relation  to  the  Baptist  church  I  found 
a  very  pleasant  one.  A  large  number  of  ardent 
Christians  and  warm-hearted  friends,  both  old  and 


94        FROM   THE    STAGE    COACH   TO   THE    PULPIT. 

young,  stood  ready  to  counsel  and^ncourage  in  every 
good  word  and  work,  and  the  summer  and  autumn 
of  eighteen  hundred  and  twenty-nine  was  enjoyed  by 
me  as  no  former  season  of  my  life  had  been.  In  fact, 
this  was  the  only  drawback  to  the  gliding  days  and 
months :  my  dear  companion  had  no  good  hope  in 
Christ,  and  no  sympathy  with  the  people  with  whom 
I  was  identified,  and  in  whose  society  I  found  such 
delight  and  Christian  fellowship.  I  could,  however, 
see  most  plainly  that  she  at  times  made  great  efforts 
to  render  herself  agreeable  to  those  with  whom  I 
came  in  contact,  but  it  was  also  as  plain  that  their 
society  was  not  agreeable  to  her.  She  was  unwilling 
to  attend  the  Baptist  meeting,  and  would  refuse  to 
interchange  visits  with  persons  of  that  society,  only 
in  such  cases  as  would  be  a  breach  of  good  manners, 
and  sometimes  she  was  not  so  careful  even  about 
that.  All  this  grew  out  of  one  fact,  a  want  of  a 
change  of  heart  and  love  to  Jesus,  as  the  sequel  will 
show  by  her  own  confession  in  a  subsequent  work  of 
grace,  and  as  was  manifested  in  a  life  altogether  short 
of  consistent  devotion  and  application  to  the  duties 
of  a  wife  and  mother  in  the  Christian  sense. 

It  gives  me  pain  to  refer  again  to  the  opposition 
evinced  by  her  during  eighteen  long  months  after  I 


THE    CHURCH    FOUND.  95 

had  hoped  in  the  pardoning  mercy  of  the  great 
Redeemer ;  and  I  have  only  consented  to  do  it  since 
her  conversion  to  Christ  magnifies  the  grace  of 
God.  "Where  sin  abounded,  grace  did  much  more 
abound."  As  I  have  before  stated,  she  was 
possessed  of  a  nature  of  kindness  and  a  very 
benevolent  disposition.  Nothing  was  wanting  to 
make  home  all  that  could  be  desired,  except  the 
one  thing  needful  on  her  part.  She  opposed  prayer 
in  the  family,  and  would  absent  herself  from  it,  if 
possible,  and  often  would  resort  to  extra  efforts  to 
disconcert  its  order.  She  was  unwilling  that  the 
pastor,  or  any  of  the  Baptist  society,  should 
interchange  visits  with  the  family. 

All  this  rendered  necessary,  at  the  commence 
ment  of  my  discipleship,  the  very  important  grace 
of  patience.  In  all  that  I  have  named,  I  saw  in 
miniature  what  I  was  when  in  a  state  of  alienation, 
fighting  against  God  and  resisting  the  truth  of  the 
Holy  One  of  Israel. 

My  own  soul  was  in  deep  agony  for  sinners.  I 
constantly  felt  a  weeping  solicitude  that  they  might 
be  brought  to  th*e  Saviour,  and  I  envied  the  talent 
and  ability  of  any  one  that  was  qualified  to  expostu 
late  with  and  win  souls  to  Jesus.  But  what  could 


96   FROM  THE  STAGE  COACH  TO  THE  PULPIT. 

/  do  ?  All  my  childhood  and  youth  had  been  spent 
in  sin  and  folly,  and  now  I  had  come  to  the  years 
of  mature  manhood,  involved  in  the  darkness  of 
ignorance.  Religion  don't  educate  a  man,  though 
it  often  makes  him  feel  his  need  of  education  and 
gives  him  fixedness  of  purpose  in  acquiring  it.  No 
education !  no  character !  and  in  no  condition  to 
obtain  the  one  or  strengthen  the  other,  and  with  no 
hope  of  either,  at  least  without  the  interposition  of 
God's  sovereign  grace. 

To  say  a  word  to  any  living  creature  about  my 
feelings  and  anxieties,  I  could  not.  If  I  should,  I 
would  be  laughed  at  as  visionary,  or  rebuked  as 
ostentatious.  In  this  state  of  mind,  I  resolved  to 
make  such  improvement  as  I  could  under  the 
circumstances.  So  I  obtained  a  dictionary,  and 
stented  myself  to  study  six  columns  a  day,  by 
spelling  the  words  and  committing  the  definitions. 

A  dictionary  is  the  first  thing  instinctively  sought 
by  every  ignorant  person  who  is  bent  on  educating 
himself.  Without  knowing  why,  they  all  feel  that 
a  knowledge  of  words  lies  at  the  foundation  of  all 
that  needs  to  be  known,  or  can  belmown.  Here  is 
a  good  point  for  philologists. 

My  wife  heard  my  lessons  at  night.     This  she  did 


THE    CHURCH   FOUND.  97 

with  cheerfulness,  little  knowing  what  use  I  intended 
to  make  of  my  knowledge.  During  the  day  I  would 
fix  the  dictionary  before  me  on  the  bench,  and  would 
repeat  the  spelling  and  definition  of  the  words  to 
myself  while  I  was  busy  at  work  with  my  hands. 
Every  evening  found  me  a  little  further  on,  till  in 
this  way  1  went  through  the  entire  book.  I  have 
found  this  systematic  study  of  the  dictionary  of 
invaluable  benefit  to  me  during  all  my  public  life. 
Having  had  so  few  school  privileges  in  early  life, 
and  having  spent  so  large  a  portion  of  my  time  in 
the  society  of  those  whose  language  was  as  imperfect 
as  it  was  impure,  my  knowledge  of  the  spelling  and 
meaning  of  words  was  very  limited.  I  was  at  this 
time  furnished  with  a  few  religious  books  and  the 
Neiv  York  Baptist  Register.  The  books  were, 
Baxter's  "Call  to  the  Unconverted,"  his  "Saints' 
Rest,"  "The  Evidences  of  Christianity,"  and  "But- 
terworth's  Concordance."  These,  with  the  Bible, 
constituted  my  library.  But  I  made  good  use  of 
them. 


FBOM   THE    STAGE    COACH   TO   THE    PULPIT. 


CHAPTER  VHI. 


A   YEAR    OF   JUBILEE. 


00: 


i BOUT  the  first  of  June,  1830,  a  powerful 
-^- ^revival  of  religion  began  in  the  Baptist  church 
of  Mendon,  but  extending  to  adjacent  towns,  and 
continuing  into  the  autumn  of  the  year ;  and  then 
increased  in  power  as  the  winter  set  in.  A  year, 
blessed  be  God!  never  to  be  forgotten  by  me,  nor 
by  a  multitude  of  others,  redeemed  as  the  purchase 
of  Christ's  precious  blood.  Among  the  number  was 
my  dear  companion.  This  fact  makes  it  the  year  of 
jubilee  to  me.  She  had  not  been  to  the  Baptist 
church  for  months  previous  to  the  evening  of  her 
surrender  to  Jesus.  She  was  induced  to  go  by  some 
means,  I  knew  not  what ;  and  although  we  had  had 
no  preaching  for  weeks  on  account  of  the  illness  of 
the  pastor,  the  meetings  were  continued  from  day  to 
day  and  from  evening  to  evening  by  the  members 
of  the  Church,  in  a  manner  to  interest  and  profit  all. 
This  evening  the  pastor  thought  it  his  duty  to  preach, 
as  a  large  congregation  had  come  out,  and  though 


A   YEAR   OF   JUBILEE.  99 

quite  feeble,  he  held  the  audience  spell-bound,  from 
the  text,  "It  is  a  fearful  thing  to  fall  into  the  hands 
of  the  living  God."  During  the  whole  delivery  of 
the  sermon  my  soul  was  weighed  down  with  such  a 
spirit  of  prayer  for  my  wife  as  I  had  never  before 
experienced,  for  her  salvation.  It  seemed  to  me 
that  all  I  had  ever  felt  for  her  before  was  merely  the 
result  of  sheer  selfishness,  a  desire  to  make  me  and 
my  home,  in  a  domestic  point  of  view,  more  com 
fortable.  God  never  answers  selfish  prayers.  He 
cannot  consistently.  But  now  I  saw,  independent 
of  my  interest  in  her  as  a  companion,  or  as  the 
mother  of  our  children,  that  she  had  a  soul  to  save, 
for  which  Christ  died,  and  which,  if  saved,  would 
be  a  star  in  His  crown  of  rejoicing ;  but  if  lost,  would 
be  lost  in  unutterable  despair  for  eternity.  And  oh  ! 
what  a  sense  was  impressed  on  me  of  that  word, 
eternity !  "  Oh !  will  she  submit  to-night  to  the 
Spirit's  blessed  influence  ?  "  As  the  preacher  closed 
his  discourse,  he  said,  "If  any  poor  sinners  will  now 
yield  to  the  Lord  Jesus,  let  them  manifest  it."  And 
while  he  was  yet  speaking,  before  any  one  had 
moved,  she  left  her  seat  and  came  down  the  aisle,  and 
as  she  came,  said,  "O,  my  dear  Christian  friends! 
will  you  pray  for  me  a  sinner?  O,  my  husband! 


100   FROM  THE  STAGE  COACH  TO  THE  PULPIT. 

can  you  forgive  and  pray  for  me?"  And  then 
bowed  herself,  burying  her  face  in  the  lap  of  the 
pastor's  wife.  Others  came  forward  for  prayer,  and 
found  peace  in  believing,  almost  immediately.  But 
Almedia  remained  in  her  kneeling  posture  for  a  long 
time,  under  great  agony  of  spirit,  but  at  length 
arose  with  a  countenance  beaming  with  a  heavenly 
smile,  and  broke  the  silence  of  the  moment  by 
saying,  "  Can  such  a  sinner  as  I  am  hope  for  mercy 
at  the  hands  of  an  insulted  Savior?  Yet  I  have 
insulted  His  Spirit,  I  have  insulted  His  children, 
and,"  turning  to  me,  "I  have  been  angry  at  God  for 
converting  my  dear  husband.  But  with  all  this 
aggravated  sin,  my  heart  says  I  will  believe  in  Jesus 
and  I  Avill  follow  Him  by  His  assisting  grace." 

Perhaps  it  will  not  interest  others  to  relate  all 
that  transpired  for  the  next  two  years  after  her 
conversion  to  Christ.  I  will  simply  state  the  fact, 
that  at  the  first  covenant  meeting  she  offered  herself 
to  the  Baptist  Church  for  membership.  And 
although  the  day  of  her  baptism  was  one  of  intense 
cold,  she,  with  others,  followed  the  Savior  with  a 
joyful  heart  into  the  liquid  tomb ;  and  from  that 
day,  was  a  practical  illustration  of  the  Scripture : 
"Even  so  we  also  should  walk  in  newness  of  life." 


A   YEAR   OF   JUBILEE.  101 

The  next  spring,  we  found  it  for  our  interest  to 
move  to  a  place  called  Sibleyville,  near  West 
Mendon,  and  so  changed  our  church  membership  to 
Rush.  In  Sibleyville  was  a  large  business  carried 
on  in  the  manufacture  of  carding  and  agricultural 
implements. 

The  factory  was  under  the  proprietorship  of 
Hiram  Sibley  &  Watson.  The  former  of  these 
gentlemen  has  since  become  wealthy,  and,  with  a 
wise  generosity,  has  given  a  large  sum  of  money  to 
the  Rochester  University,  with  which  "  Sibley  Hall " 
has  been  erected,  one  of  the  first  educational  build 
ings  in  the  land.  Though  not  a  member  of  the 
Baptist  Church,  his  sagacious  eye  has  seen  the 
immense  advantage  to  a  city  and  commonwealth, 
for  all  time  to  come,  of  the  establishment  of  such 
an  institution  of  liberal  learning  on  the  most  per 
manent  basis,  and  his  hand  has  given  accordingly. 

In  my  new  employment,  I  was  connected  with  a 
class  of  hands  numbering  some  eighty  in  all,  and 
not  one  of  them  a  Christian,  except  an  old  man  by 
the  name  of  Kimble,  a  Methodist,  pious  and  godly. 
The  whole  company,  with  this  single  exception,  was 
given  to  drinking,  profanity  and  Sabbath  desecration. 
I  proposed  to  Kimble  to  start  a  meeting  in  the 


102   FROM  THE  STAGE  COACH  TO  THE  PULPIT. 

place ;  but  he  thought  it  useless,  as  our  associates 
were  so  irreligious,  the  most  of  them  being  drunk 
ards  and  scoffers  at  sacred  things.  "Well,  then," 
said  I,  "  let  us  get  up  a  temperance  meeting,  and  see 
if  some  of  them  can't  be  reformed."  But  he  said, 
"No;  we  can't  do  anything  for  them."  "Well,  I 
shall  make  an  appointment,  and  you  must  come  out 
and  act  as  chairman  of  the  meeting."  He  finally 
consented,  if  I  would  take  the  responsibility  of  the 
result.  "I  will  assume  that,"  I  replied.  So  I  made 
an  appointment  at  the  school  house,  giving  a  written 
notice.  It  so  happened,  without  any  design  on  my 
part,  that  it  would  occur  on  "town  meeting"  day. 
I  went  to  East  Rush  and  selected  a  young  medical 
student  to  come  up  and  be  secretary.  His  name 
was  Howard.  The  evening  of  the  meeting  came, 
and  the  whole  crew  in  and  about  the  shops  had  been 
to  the  "town  meeting,"  and  were  well  liquored  up. 
Kimble  saw  the  cases  we  had  to  deal  with,  and 
regretted  that  we  had  hit  upon  that  evening.  But 
in  we  went,  and  found  the  school-house  jammed 
with  all  classes.  Many  were  respectable  young 
men  and  women,  while  a  host  were  hard  cases, 
highly  fired  up  with  "town  meeting"  whisky.  As 
we  came  in  with  our  associates,  all  manner  of 


A    YEAli    OF    JUBILEE.  103 

remarks  were  made  :  "There  come  the  cold  water 
devils;"  "hold  your  breath,  Jake — you  will  take 
fire  from  that  caudle,"  etc.  Then  followed  a  loud 
laugh.  Kimble  looked  as  pale  as  ashes.  I  arose 
and  said  :  "It  is  time  to  organize  the  meeting,  and 
I  will  nominate  Mr.  Kimble  as  chairman  and  Dr. 
Howard  as  secretary."  The  Doctor  seconded  the 
motion.  "All  in  favor  of  the  motion,  will  say,  aye." 
"I;"  "I;"  "I  will;"  "I  won't;"  "I  shan't;"  "I 
can't,"  went  up  on  all  sides.  "Contrary-minded,  say 
no."  "No — no — no — no,  not  I;"  "No,  not  you, 
old  'Kib."  The  whole  scene  was  not  the  most 
orderly  imaginable,  nor  calculated  to  quiet  delicate 
nerves.  Kimble  took  the  chair,  with  about  as  much 
grace  as  a  dog  gets  over  the  fence  after  he  has  been 
caught  stealing  sheep.  He  called  on  me  to  pray, 
which  I  did  as  well  as  I  knew  how  under  the  unde- 
votional  circumstances,  when  they  began  hooting 
and  jeering  again.  But  I  at  once  arose  and  com 
menced  addressing  the  meeting  'something  as 
follows : 

"My  dear  neighbors  of  Sibleyville,  I  rejoice  to  see 
so  many  of  the  respectable  inhabitants  of  this  place 
out  to  this  meeting  to-night.  It  argues  well  for 
your  respect  to  the  cause  of  sobriety  and  the  cause 
of  humanity.  The  occasion  is  most  auspicious,  for 


104   FKOM  THE  STAGE  COACH  TO  THE  PULPIT. 

more  than  one  reason  :  It  is  town-meeting  day,  or 
the  evening  of  onr  town  election,  in  which  a  few 
have  not  only  exercised  their  right  to  the  elective 
franchise,  but  to  improve  the  right  of  drinking 
egg-nog  well  seasoned  with  bad  whisky,  and  such 
other  drinks  as  men  indulge  in  to  make  fools  of 
themselves,  and  to  disgust  all  good  and  honest- 
thinking  people ;  and  as  we  have  a  few  specimens 
of  that  disgusting  and  degrading  class  present 
this  evening,  I  propose  to  talk  to  you  about 
Temperance" 

As  soon  as  I  had  pronounced  the  word  "temper 
ance  ,"-a  pettifogging  lawyer  of  the  town  rose  in  his 
place  and  interrupted  me  by  asking  :  "  What  is  the 
definition  of  the  word  'temperance '  ?  " 

I  saw  at  once  that  it  was  all  done  to  disturb  the 
meeting  and  get  up  a  row,  and,  if  possible,  break 
up  the  meeting  by  disorder  and  drunken  slang.  I 
knew  him  to  be  a  man  of  some  education, — in  fact 
he  had  been  a  school-teacher  in  the  town,  and  was 
in  repute  as  a  man  of  intelligence.  So  I  replied, 
"I  presume  every  person  in  the  congregation  is 
quite  familiar  with  the  definition  of  the  term,  except 
Mr.  Townsand  ;  and  as  he  has  been  so  long  accus 
tomed  to  the  other  side  of  this  important  word, 
and  has  now  nearly  finished  his  course  of  intemperate 


A   YEAR    OF    JUBILEE.  105 

education,  I  propose,  now,  that  we  buy  him  a 
Webster's  spelling-book  and  send  him  to  a  good 
school,  to  some  woman  teacher  for  three  months ; 
and  at  the  end  of  his  time,  if  he  has  not  learned 
the  signification  of  the  term  temperance,  that  we 
then  put  him  on  a  course  of  simple  diet  of  buck 
wheat  cakes  and  cold  water  for  three  months  more. 
And  if  that  don't  effect  his  knowledge  of  the  word, 
at  the  next  town-meeting  we  will  turn  him  over  to 
old  'Aunt  Cloe,'  the  goddess  of  his  passions." 

At  the  conclusion  of  this  reply,  the  entire 
congregation  were  in  a  perfect  storm  of  laughter  at 
poor  Townsand's  expense. 

I  then  made  an  appeal  to  the  young  men,  sighting 
them  to  the  class  present  who  had  given  us,  there 
and  then,  such  a  demonstration  of  the  effect  of  a 
drunkard's  life  and  character,  and  asked  them  to 
decide  that  night  which  side  they  would  take ;  and 
every  man  and  woman  present,  who  was  not  iden 
tified  with  that  company  of  the  baser  sort,  came 
up  and  signed  the  pledge — among  the  number,  Hon. 
Hiram  Sibley  and  his  partner  in  business,  Mr. 
Watson.  After  this,  temperance  was  the  order  of 
the  community. 

Poor  Mr.  Townsand  never  heard  the  last  of  the 
proposition  to  send  him  to  a  woman's  school. 


106      FROM    THE    STAGE    COACH   TO    THE   PULPIT. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

SHALL    I    PREACH? FIRST    PASTORATE. 

IN  my  new  relation  with  the  church  at  Rush,  I 
found  a  more  ample  field  in  which  to  develop  the 
ardent  desire  of  my  heart.  The  church  was  small 
in  comparison  with  the  one  at  Mendon,  which  at 
the  time  numbered  some  four  hundred.  At  Rush 
the  numerical  strength  was  one  hundred  all  told, 
mostly  poor  and  not  well-trained  in  Christian  work. 
In  fact,  many  of  them  did  not  believe  in  the 
benevolent  efforts  made  for  the  extension  of  the 
Messiah's  kingdom,  while  a  few  believed  in  every 
good  word  and  work.  The  pastor  was  a  young  man 
from  the  Mendou  church.  Partly  owing  to  this,  I 
was  at  once  put  forward  by  the  working  members 
of  the  little  church,  and  encouraged  by  the  young 
pastor  to  enter  every  open  door  of  usefulness — the 
Sunday  school,  prayer  meeting,  the  conference 
meeting.  In  a  short  time  we  established  a  number 

o 

of   out-stations,  some   in   considerable-sized  towns 
near  by. 


FIRST   PASTORATE.  107 

My  effort  at  the  temperance  meeting  had  created 
quite  a  stir  among  the  better  class  of  the  commu 
nity,  and  not  a  little  rage  among  the  baser  sort. 
Thus  I  was  called  upon  to  address  gatherings  at 
Sunday  school  meetings  and  temperance  societies. 
I  was  at  home  with  all  classes  of  working  Christians  : 
Methodist,  Presbyterian  and  Baptist. 

Long  before  I  left  Mendou,  I  was  impressed  with 
the  duty  of  preaching  Christ  to  all  my  fellow- 
sinners,  but  was  always  met  with  the  depressing  fact 
of  my  unfitness  for  a  work  of  such  magnitude  and 
responsibility.  No  expectation  of  even  a  common 
education,  I  yet  had  an  insatiable  thirst  for 
knowledge,  that  I  might  tell  the  story  of  Christ's 
love  to  a  world  of  lost  sinners,  what  He  had  done 
and  was  doing  for  their  salvation. 

Many  dear  friends  said  and  did  much  to  encourage 
me  to  enter  just  as  I  was  upon  the  work,  while 
others  suggested  that  I  might  perhaps  go  to  Hamilton 
and  take  what  was  called  the  "short  course."  But 
this  looked  well-nigh  impossible,  for  two  reasons : 
First.  In  that  case,  my  wife  and  children  would  be 
without  any  visible  means  of  support,  while  I  was 
twenty-six  years  of  age  and  not  instructed  in  even 
the  common  branches.  What  little  knowledge  I 


108     FROM    THE    STAGE    COACH   TO   THE    PULPIT. 

did  possess,  was  in  a  crude  and  disconnected  state. 
Second.  The  church  in  Rush  was  quite  divided  on 
the  question  of  licensing  me  to  improve  my  gifts  in 
preaching.  Something  was  the  matter,  first  of  all, 
with  my  doctrinal  views.  A  part  thought  I  was  not 
exactly  sound  on  the  election  phase  of  the  Gospel, 
whatever  that  is ;  while  others  thought  that  if  this 
was  true,  it  might  not  work  great  -mischief  to  let 
me  try  and  do  all  the  good  I  could  in  the  name  of 
my  newly-adopted  Master,  Christ  the  Lord.  As  to 
my  own  views,  I  did  not  know  which  I  was,  or  on 
which  side  of  these  questions  I  properly  belonged. 
But  this  one  thing  I  did  know,  that  Jesus  Christ 
came  into  the  world  to  save  sinners,  and  the  Crospel 
was  the  power  of  God  unto  salvation  to  every  one 
that  belie veth. 

I  continued  to  hold  meetings  in  such  communities 
as  opened  a  door  to  my  poor  efforts,  so  that  all  my 
Sabbaths  were  occupied.  At  length  the  pastor 
pressed  the  church  to  give  me  a  regular  license  to 
preach  wherever  God  should  cast  my  lot.  The 
"  hypers  "  opposed  and  the  "  lowpers  "  pressed  it  to 
decision.  The  vote  was  finally  decided  with  six 
majority  in  my  favor,  out  of  about  fifty  votes.  The 
clerk  refused  to  make  a  record  of  the  action,  because 


FIRST   PASTORATE.  109 

the  sisters  voted.  The  pastor  and  friends  asked 
him  to  give  a  certificate  of  the  vote,  which  he  also 
declined  to  do.  The  devil  shows  his  ingenuity  in 
inventing  such  men  and  getting  'them  into  the 
Church.  He  generally  only  loans  them  to  the  Church, 
for  in  nine  cases  out  of  ten,  he  receives  them  back 
again.  This  man  was  not  an  exception.  He  con 
tinued  to  show  his  pious  zeal  for  having  all  things 
work  according  to  "Gunther"  in  the  church.  When 
I  received  a  call  to  the  little  church  in  the  "town"  of 
Alabama,  Genesee  County,  and  decided  to  accept  it, 
the  question  of  my  receiving  the  license  came  up 
again  ;  but  he,  with  the-  same  holy  love  of  meanness 
as  ever,  stoutly  refused  it.  He  was  shortly  deposed 
from  the  clerkship,  excluded  from  the'  church,  and 
imprisoned  on  being  found  guilty  of  theft.  His  name 
was  Murray. 

During  the  pendency  of  this  certificate  business,  I 
kept  still,  having  very  little  confidence  in  paper 
credentials,  paper  creeds,  paper  religion  or  paper 
sermons.  (Skip  the  last  word,  or  read  it  in  a 
whisper.) 

I  soon  moved  to  my  new  field,  where  I  found  my 
hands  and  heart  full.  I  was  shortly  ordained  by  a 
council  of  churches,  represented  by  the  following 


110   FROM  THE  STAGE  COACH  TO  THE  PULPIT. 

pastors :  Elijah  Weaver,  G.  B.  Davis,  Roswell 
Kimble,  Martin  Coleman,  Samuel  Gilbert,  Horace 
Griswell,  Stephen  A.  Weaver,  and  Wm.  Barrett. 
I  think  all  these  have  passed  away  to  their  rewards, 
except  the  last  named,  who  left  the  Baptist  Church 
and  joined  himself  with  the  Methodists. 

The  church  in  Alabama  was  organized  in  1831, 
with  twenty-one  members.  The  following  year  they 
reported  to  the  Association  one  hundred  and  ninety- 
two.  I  remained  with  them  until  1835,  when  I 
accepted  a  call  from  the  church  in  Parma. 

This  was  a  very  trying  year  to  me.  During  it  my 
dear  Almedia  sickened  and  died,  leaving  me  with 
four  small  children,  and  myself  with  impaired  health. 

I  have  had  misgivings  about  the  right  of  leaving 
Alabama  at  the  time  I  did ;  yet  I  then  thought  it 
duty.  Certain  after  developments  have  led  me  to 
question  the  correctness  of  the  step.  The  whole 
time  of  my  connection  with  the  Alabama  church 
was  one  of  uninterrupted  prosperity. 

Many  incidents  occurred  in  this  country  church, 
which  are  worth  remembering.  In  one  portion  of 
the  "town"  was  a  community  of  Universalists,  who 
controlled  the  school  house  in  that  district.  There 
was  then  but  one  pious  family  in  the  neighborhood, 


FIRST   PASTOEATE.  Ill 

the  man  a  deacon  in  my  church.  He  was  quite 
desirous  that  an  effort  should  be  made  for  the  refor 
mation  of  his  neighbors.  But  many  of  the  church 
thought  it  impossible  (at  least  inexpedient,)  for  so 
young  and  inexperienced  a  person  as  myself  to  be 
brought  into  contact  with  these  semi-skeptics  with 
any  advantage  to  the  cause.  But  I  told  the  deacon 
that  if  he  would  get  the  right  of  the  house,  and  he 
and  his  wife  and  little  Adney  would  stand  by  the 
cross  and  pray  for  salvation,  I  would  come  over  and 
in  the  name  of  Jesus  I  would  "strike  for  liberty  and 
salvation." 

He  and  "Aunt  Eliza"  gave  the  best  of  assurance 
of  fidelity  to  the  work  at  whatever  cost.  So  we  gave 
out  the  appointment  for  Wednesday  evening,  and  the 
meetings  to  be  continued  day  and  night,  for  time 
indefinite.  It  was  early  in  March,  and  farmers  had 
not  much  to  do.  Wednesday  evening  came,  and  with 
it,  a  crowd  that  filled  the  house  in  every  part.  A 
murmur  was  heard  in  a  certain  corner,  with  such 
remarks  as  :  "I  smell  brimstone ;"  "the  devil  will  get 
you ;"  "look  out  for  the  bottomless  pit ;"  "hell  will  be 
your  portion ;"  "now  for  a  gospel  storm  of  hail  and 
hot  damnation,  mixed." 

While  this  was  going  on,  I  called  on  the  deacon, 


112      FROM    THE    STAGE    COACH    TO    THE    PULPIT.       . 

his  wife  and  little  boy  to  pray.  Such  pleading  with 
God  it  seemed  to  me  I  had  never  listened  to  before ; 
and  soon  all  was  still  as  the  hour  of  death.  At  this 
moment  came  in  Mr.  McC.  and  wife,  carrying  a  light 
stand  and  two  candles,  also  a  chair  apiece.  As  the 
Squire,  for  such  he  was,  took  his  seat  in  front  of  the 
desk  and  fixed  his  writing  apparatus,  an  audible  smile 
arose  from  all  over  the  room.  I  arose,  called  on  all 
to  sing  the  fifty-fifth  Psalm,  in  Watts'  old  book, 

"  Let  sinners  take  their  choice,  and  choose  the  road  to  death," 

and  announced  as  my  text,  when  they  had  finished 
singing ;  "I  am  not  ashamed  of  the  Gospel  of  Christ, 
for  it  is  the  power  of  God  unto  salvation  to  every 
one  that  belie veth." 

As  I  was  about  to  proceed  with  my  sermon,  Squire 
McC.  interrupted  me  by  saying,  "Will  you  repeat 
your  text  again?"  I  did  so,  calmly,  and  then  went 
on.  In  a  short  time,  "Will  you  wait  a  minute  till  I 
take  that  down?"  I  waited.  And  so  he  continued 
to  interrupt  me  at  almost  every  step  for  about 
twenty  minutes,  all  this  time  the  congregation 
evincing  more  or  less  merriment  at  the  sharpness  of 
Squire  McC. 

All  this  time,  the  Deacon  and  "Aunt  Eliza"  were 


FIRST   PASTORATE.  113 

groaning  in  spirit  for  Divine  help  for  the  stripling 
of  a  minister.  When  it  came  in  point,  I  quoted 
from  Mark  iii.  28-29  : 

"Verily  I  say  unto  you,  All  sins  shall  be  forgiven 
unto  the  sons  of  men,  and  blasphemies  wherewith 
soever  they  shall  blaspheme  : 

"But  he  that  shall  blaspheme  against  the  Holy 
Ghost  hath  never  forgiveness,  but  is  in  danger  of 
eternal  damnation." 

"Put  that  down,  Squire  McC.,"  said  I;  "and 
don't  forget  the  chapter  and  verse."  I  went  on : 
"  Our  Universalist  friends  say  that  there  is  no  eternal 
damnation.  Jesus  says  there  is.  Whom  shall  we 
believe?"  The  Squire  pushed  back  his  chair  and 
paper,  and  that  was  the  last  of  his  note-taking  that 
evening.  He  sat  the  rest  of  the  time  with  bowed 
head  and  downcast  looks.  The  next  morning,  he 
and  his  wife  called  at  the  Deacon's  and  requested 
prayer,  and  confessed  their  skepticism  and  sin. 
They  were  both  converted. 

Major  Richards  lived  in  this  community,  and  a 
day  or  two  before  the  meeting,  he  thought  to 
nullify  all  the  effect  of  the  meeting  by  alluding  to 
it  in  something  like  the  following  :  "  Stimson  is  to 
hold  a  protracted  meeting  in  our  school-house  next 


114   FROM  THE  STAGE  COACH  TO  THE  PULPIT. 

week."  "So  I  hear,"  would  be  the  response. 
"Well,  I  will  tell  you  what  I  have  been  thinking 
about,"  he  would  continue;  "and  it  is  this:  you, 
Mr.  A.,  (or  B.,  as  the  case  was,)  will  be  among  the 
converts."  "Not  I — not  I,"  would  be  the  natural 
reply.  "Well,  I  will  bet  two  shillings  on  it, 
anyhow."  And,  "I  will  take  that  bet,"  his  friend 
would  say.  Then  the  Major  would  go  to  the  next, 
and  make  the  same  wager.  In  his  round  he  came 
upon  Capt.  H.,  who  refused  to  bet  money,  but 
would  bet  a  bushel  of  potatoes  against  twenty-five 
cents. 

The  meeting  continued  a  number  of  days,  when 
one  evening  a  lady  came  and  invited  me  to  go  and 
stay  with  her  family  that  night.  I  consented.  She 
had  come  to  the  meeting  on  horseback,  and  her 
husband  left  the  house  first  to  go  on*  and  start  the 
fires  at  home.  On  the  way  she  told  me  that  her 
husband  was  under  deep  conviction,  but  he  had 
made  a  bet  with  the  Major  of  a  bushel  of  potatoes 
against  twenty-five  cents.  He  did  not  know  what 
to  do.  Not  that  he  cared  for  the  potatoes,  but  the 
bet  was  a  sin  in  his  view  now. 

When  we  arrived  at  their  log  house,  we  found  the 
captain  quite  depressed  in  spirit.     I  at  once  com- 


FIRST   PASTORATE.  115 

menced  conversation  with  him  about  his  state  of 
mind  as  a  sinner,  and  put  to  him  this  question, 
"  Capt. ,  are  you  willing  to  do  any  and  everything 
you  can  for  salvation  in  Christ?"  "Yes;  all  I  can 
do."  "  Will  you  pray  in  your  family  and  begin  here 
now,  to-night  ?  "  He  hesitated.  "  Well,  now  Capt. ," 
I  continued,  "this  is  the  turning  point."  He  still 
hesitated.  "  Come,  Capt.,  now  resolve  to  pray,  and 
ask  God  to  forgive  your  sin  of  trifling  with  sacred 
things ;  and  to-morrow  morning  go  to  the  Major 
and  pay  the  potatoes,  and  tell  him  you  have  lost  the 
bet,  fair  play."  And  I  quoted  Ecclesiastes  v.  4-5  : 
"  When  thou  vowest  a  vow  unto  God,  defer  not  to 
pay  it ;  for  he  hath  no  pleasure  in  fools  ;  pay  that 
which  thou  hast  vowed.  Better  is  it  that  thou 
shouldest  not  vow,  than  that  thou  shouldest  vow  a'nd 
not  pay."  He  hesitated  no  longer,  but  cried  out, 
"  O,  Elder,  do  pray  for  me  !  "  We  all  bowed,  and 
God  delivered  his  poor  soul  that  night  from  con 
demnation.  The  next  morning  he  went,  paid  the 
potatoes  like  a  man,  and  confessed  to  the  Major,  and 
warned  him  to  flee  from  the  coming  wrath. 

Thus  the  work  went  on  against  the  deep  laid  plans 
and  open  opposition  of  the  enemy.  The  third  Lord's 
day  after  the  meeting  began,  twenty-three  were  bap- 


116   FROM  THE  STAGE  COAOH  TO  THE  PULPIT. 

tized ;  Capt.  H.  and  wife,  C.  McC.,  Esq.,  and  wife, 
among  the  number.  In  all,  eighteen  heads  of  families 
and  five  youths.  And  we  continued  to  sing, 

"  O,  careless  sinner,  come, 

Pray  now  attend ; 
This  world  is  not  your  home, 

It  soon  will  end. 
Jehovah  calls  aloud, 
Forsake  the  thoughtless  crowd, 
Pursue  the  road  to  God, 

And  happy  be. 

During  this  year  a  squad  of  blacklegs  came  to 
town,  and  as  usual,  made  an  onset  upon  the  morality 
of  the  community.  They  secured  a  large  field 
adjoining  the  house  in  which  we  worshiped,  and 
fitted  it  up  for  the  races.  I  trembled  for  our  youth 
in  view  of  this  moral  pest.  Horse-racing,  like 
circuses,  may  be  all  right  per  se,  only  they  are  never 
found  per  se;  per  contra  is  the  attitude  in  which 
they  stand  to  all  morality. 

The  Sabbath  before  this  devil's  protracted  meeting 
began,  we  held  forth  the  word  of  life  from  the  text 
in  Psalms  xvi.  9  :  "  Gather  not  my  soul  with  sinners 
nor  my  life  with  bloody  men."  It  had  the  desired 
effect.  Not  a  Christian  of  any  denomination  at 
tended,  with  a  single  exception;  and  he  was 


FIRST   PASTORATE.  117 

disciplined,  and  confessed  his  wrong  doing.  The 
Lord's  day  following  the  races,  we  preached  from  the 
text,  John  viii.  44  :  "Ye  are  of  your  father  the  devil, 
and  the  lusts  of  your  father  ye  will  do  ;  he  was  a 
murderer  from  the  beginning,  and  abode  not  in  the 
truth,  because  there  is  no  truth  in  him.  When  he 
speaketh  a  lie,  he  speaketh  of  his  own ;  for  he  is  a 
liar,  and  the  father  of  it."  The  chief  man  among 
the  gamblers  was  present,  and  listened  with  marked 
attention  to  all  the  scathing  utterances  of  the  young 
preacher,  with  all  the  decorum  of  a  saint.  He  had 
won  a  thousand  dollars  at  the  races  the  week  previ 
ous.  As  the  congregation  was  dismissed  he  took 
his  position  near  the  door,  and  as  I  came  out,  he 
reached  me  his  hand,  and  with  a  smile,  said,  "  I  am 
happy  to  hear  you  to-day,  and  should  be  pleased  to 
make  your  acquaintance,  Mr.  Stimson.  Good  day, 
sir,"  and  he  passed  off  among  the  crowd.  In  shaking 
hands  he  had  left  a  five  dollar  note  in  my  hand. 

On  my  way  home  I  commenced  the  following  close 
conversation  between  myself  and  this  son  of  Belial, 
now  absent  in  body  but  present  in  spirit;  "Well, 
Mr.  Devil  Jr. ,  you  think  you  have  caught  me  in  a 
trap,  but  I  will  let  you  know  that  I  don't  bite  at  any 
such  poison-bait.  If  you  have  paid  this  to  buy  your 


118      FKOM   THE    STAGE   COACH  TO   THE   PULPIT. 

conscience  ease,  it  will  only  increase  your  pains  four 
fold."  I  thus  went  to  my  home  and  told  my  wife 
what  had  occurred,  and  showed  her  the  note.  She 
smiled,  and  remarked,  "  Quite  a  nice  donation."  I 
replied,  "Not  so  nice  for  me.  This  is  hush  money. 
And  I  will  make  the  devil's  children  wish  they  had 
kept  it  out  of  my  hands." 

The  next  morning  I  went  to  the  hotel,  and  asked 
the  clerk  for  Mr.  R.  He  directed  me  to  his  room, 
where  he  greeted  me  with  all  the  suavity  of  Lord 
Chesterfield.  Mr.  R.  with  his  companions,  were 
surrounding  a  table  loaded  with  liquors  of  different 
brands  in  fine  cut  glasses.  I  walked  up  to  the 
table  and  laid  down  the  bill,  saying:  "Here,  Mr. 
R.,  is  the  bill  you  left  in  my  hand  yesterday.  I 
now  return  it  to  you  as  "base  gain,"  illy  gotten  by 
you,  and  probably  given  to  a  poor  minister  to  ease 
your  guilty  spirit,  or  as  a  pretext  for  scandalizing 
the  servants  of  God,  by  saying  'they  will  preach 
against  our  profession,  but  are  as  eager  as  other  men 
to  get  the  avails.'  Gentlemen,  I  cannot  take  a  bribe. 
You  are  young  men  that  appear  well  in  exterior,  but 
inwardly  are  corrupt.  You  have  brought  to  our 
town,  and  have  caused  to  congregate  here  during 
these  days  of  races,  the  vilest  prostitutes,  to  poison 


FIRST    PASTORATE.  119 

and  pollute  our  young  men.  The  worst  forms  of 
intemperance  follow  in  your  wake,  as  a  besom  of 
death  and  destruction  to  all  that  come  within  your 
power.  May  the  Spirit  of  God  follow  you,  and 
hedge  up  your  way  to  despair.  Good  morning, 
gentlemen." 

During  this  little  speech  each  man  sat  as  still  as  if 
made  of  marble.  In  a  few  days  it  was  ascertained 
from  the  landlady,  that  it  was  a  plot  designed  to 
bring  scandal  on  the  minister ;  that  he  would  as  soon 
take  money  from  gamblers  as  from  any  other  source. 
But  it  failed  this  time.  I  was  gratified  in  after  years 
to  learn  from  J.  H.  Green,  the  reformed  gambler, 
that  this  same  Mr.  R.  became  a  reformed  man  and  a 
Christian,  and  related  to  Mr.  Green  the  circum 
stances  of  the  foregoing  plot,  and  requested  him  if 
he  ever  came  North,  to  find  me  out,  and  if  living  to 
extend  to  me  his  grateful  emotions  for  kind  and  plain 
dealing. 

The  following  winter  was  a  time  of  general  refresh 
ing  in  all  the  churches  in  Western  New  York.  Our 
dear  church  in  Alabama  had  a  divine  portion  meted 
out  to  them,  but  not  as  extensive  as  that  of  a  year  or 
two  previous.  The  church  was  well  united,  and 
quite  happy  in  their  covenant  relation  with  each 


120      FROM    THE    STAGE    COACH   TO   THE   PULPIT. 

other.  There  remained,  however,  not  a  few  in  the 
community  who  had  not  been  personally  brought  to 
accept  Jesus.  Among  others  there  were  three  young 
men,  whose  names  we  shall  not  mention,  whose 
enmity  to  the  truth  had  increased  in  the  same  propor 
tion  as  they  had  resisted  Christ  and  grieved  the 
Spirit. 

Among  others  that  they  didn't  like,  was  the  pastor 
of  the  Baptist  church.  I  had  a  young  and  spirited 
horse  which  needed  a  vigilant  eye,  and  careful  hand 
ling.  My  carriage  was  a  rude  sort  of  concern, 
mostly  manufactured  by  my  own  hands,  but  answer 
ing  all  the  purposes  of  a  poor  minister  in  a  new 
country.  It  was  early  in  March,  when  I  had  an 
appointment  at  an  out-station  where  these  young  men 
resided.  My  appointment  was  on  the  evening  of 
Sabbath.  I  arrived  at  the  usual  time,  and  as  a  light 
snow  was  falling,  I  covered  my  animal  up  snugly 
with  the  blanket,  and  went  into  the  school-house.  All 
were  waiting  for  the  minister.  In  the  course  of  the 
evening,  in  came  these  three  young  men,  and  quietly 
waited  till  the  meeting  closed.  I  got  into  my  buggy, 
if  it  could  be  dignified  by  such  a  name,  and  drove 
carefully  home  as  usual,  not  mistrusting  the  least 
harm  to  myself  or  property.  There  had  been  a 


FIRST   PASTORATE.  121 

February  thaw,  and  as  the  ground  froze  up  again  it 
left  deep  ruts,  which  I  let  the  buggy  follow ;  got 
home  between  ten  and  eleven  o'clock,  put  up  the 
horse  and  went  to  bed,  unconscious  of  any  danger  to 
which  I  had  been  exposed.  As  I  went  to  the  barn 
in  the  morning,  in  passing  the  vehicle  I  noticed  a 
linen-pin  was  missing,  and  on  examination  found  that 
all  were  gone.  On  going  into  the  barn,  I  found  that 
the  harness  was  cut  in  a  number  of  places,  and  only 
held  together  by  mere  strings  ;  if  any  part  had  given 
way,  or  a  wheel  had  run  off,  a  shipwreck  would  have 
taken  place,  and  life  or  limb  would  have  been  in 
jeopardy  in  the  darkness  of  the  night. 

I  went  into  the  house  with  a  deep  sense  of  God's 
preserving  care  impressed  on  my  heart,  and  with  a 
strange  wonder  as  to  who  could  be  our  enemy.  At 
family  devotions  I  rendered  thanksgiving  to  God 
for  protection,  and  then  prayed  for  those  who  had 
sought  our  hurt,  but  failed  in  their  malice.  After 
prayer,  wife  said :  "  Why,  husband,  what  has 
happened  that  you  should  be  so  exercised  at  prayer 
this  morning?"  I  tried  to  evade  her  inquiry,  as  I 
was  unwilling  she  should  know  what  peril  I  had 
been  in,  or  that  she  should  think  I  had  an  enemy  so 
malicious.  But  all  my  attempts  at  concealment  only 


122   FROM  THE  STAGE  COACH  TO  THE  PULPIT. 

made  her  the  more  inquisitive — for  some  women, 
even,  are  inquisitive — and  earnest  to  know  the  facts. 
I  told  her,  and  showed  her  the  buggy  and  harness  ; 
and  we  mutually  agreed  to  keep  it  a  secret  and  let 
time  develop  the  mystery,  as  I  had  all  the  time  aD 
impression  that  it  would. 

This  occurred  the  first  of  March.  Things  moved 
on  for  a  month  or  more,  not  a  word  coming  to  our 
ears  from  any  source  by  way  of  explanation  of  the 
affair.  As  we  were  going  to  the  same  school  house 
one  Sabbath  morning  to  fill  an  appointment,  I  saw  in 
the  distance  a  young  man,  sitting  on  a  log  by  the 
roadside,  and  at  once  recognized  him.  What  can  it 
mean,  I  thought,  that  he  should  be  out  here  Sab 
bath  morning,  a  mile  and  a  half  from  home  ?  As  I 
neared  the  spot,  he  arose  and  came  directly  to  the 
carriage — by  using  different  words  to  designate  what 
I  rode  in,  I  may  hit  it — and  after  saying  "  Good 
morning,"  asked  if  he  could  ride  with  me  to  the 
meeting.  I  stopped,  and  as  he  got  in  he  looked  over 
the  dash  board  of  the  ark  at  the  harness,  first  one 
side  and  then  the  other.  The  place  where  the  tugs 
were  mended  was  visible  to  the  naked  eye.  He  then 
hung  his  head,  as  if  in  a  deep  study,  and  with  a  woe 
begone  countenance.  There  was  perfect  silence  for 


FIRST   PASTORATE.  123 

a  few  moments.  At  length  he  said  :  "Mr.  Stimson, 
I  have  come  out  to  meet  you  this  morning  to  confess 
an  awful  crime  of  which  I  am  guilty."  At  this  he 
choked  up,  and  became  convulsed  beyond  utterance. 
After  a  moment's  pause,  he  said:  "Will  you  stop 
here  in  the  woods?"  It  was  a  dense  forest.  By  this 
time  he  had  so  far  got  the  control  of  his  emotions  as 
to  speak  distinctly.  He  proceeded,  "I  am  one  of 
the  men  who  cut  your  harness  and  took  out  the 
linch-pins  of  your  buggy.  I  do  not  want  you  to 
ask  me  who  were  with  me  and  are  equally  guilty 
as  myself.  I  told  them  last  evening  that  I  was 
going  to  confess  to  you  the  whole  matter,  so  far  as 
I  am  concerned.  Now,  Elder,  can  you  and  will 
you  forgive  me,  and  pray  God  to  pardon  me  for 
this  awful,  malicious  sin?"  He  went  on  to  say: 
"The  night  we  committed  the  act  I  did  not  close 
my  eyes,  and  all  the  next  day  I  dreaded  to  hear 
from  the  Lewiston  road  lest  the  news  should  be, 
Elder  Stimson's  horse  ran  away  with  him  and  killed 
or  hurt  him ;  and  when  I  understood  you  were 
about  as  common,  I  went  into  the  stable  and  wept 
like  a  child.  The  entire  six  or  eisfht  weeks  since 

o 

has  been  a  constant  hell  of  torment  to  me,  day  and 
night.  Now,  Elder,  tell  me  what  I  must  do  to 


124   FROM  THE  STAGE  COACH  TO  THE  PULPIT. 

satisfy  you,  and  then  what  I  must  do  to  find  peace 
with  God  and  my  almost  distracted  mind."  "Well, 
my  friend,  you  have  nothing  to  do  to  satisfy  me. 
As  far  as  I  am  concerned,  it's  all  cancelled.  As  to 
your  relations  to  your  Maker  and  Savior,  all  I  have 
to  say  is,  in  the  words  of  Paul  to  the  jailer,  'Believe 
on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  thou  shalt  be  saved.' 
Go  into  the  meeting  this  morning  and  confess 
yourself  a  sinner,  and  ask  Christians  to  pray  for 
you.  Now,  will  you  do  it?"  To  which  he  replied, 
in  a  subdued  tone :  "I  will,  God  helping  me." 
And  we  drove  on  to  the  meeting.  The  young  man 
was  as  good  as  his  word.  At  the  close  of  the 
meeting,  he  got  up  and  confessed  his  sins  and  asked 
Christians  to  pray  for  him.  His  sister,  who  was  a 
godly  woman,  shouted  out,  "Praise  God!"  While 
this  young  man  was  speaking,  the  whole  church 
was  in  tears,  and  two  other  young  men  were  noticed 
to  be  quite  restive  in  the  back  part  of  the  room. 
I  at  once  called  on  others  who  felt  the  need  of 
prayer  and  salvation  to  express  it  by  rising  and 
speaking,  and  seven  or  eight  at  once  improved  the 
moment ;  but  the  two  restive  young  men  did  not 
leave  their  seats.  We  closed  with  a  solemn  season 
of  prayer,  and  two  found  peace  in  believing.  But 


FIRST   PASTORATE.  125 

the  young  man  was  left  in  a  state  almost  bordering 
on  despair.  The  next  day  he  called  at  my  house 
to  pay  the  damage  to  buggy  and  harness,  but  I 
declined  to  receive  anything  whatever. 

This  was  the  opening  of  a  new  refreshing  for  the 
church.  In  the  course  of  one  or  two  weeks,  two 
other  young  men  called  at  my  residence,  and  wished 
a  private  interview.  We  went  into  an  adjoining 
room,  and  as  soon  as  seated,  one  of  them  commenced 

by  asking  me  if  a  Mr had  in  any  way  implicated 

them  in  a  certain  transaction  quite  disreputable  ?  I 
answered,  "  No."  "  Did  he  implicate  himself  in  the 
matter  ?  "  "  What  matter  ?  "  I  inquired.  "  Any  matter 
of  injury  to  yourself  or  property?"  I  answered, 
"Gentlemen,  any  matter  confided  to  me  of  a  per 
sonal  nature,  not  affecting  the  public  interest,  I  am 
bound  by  the  laws  of  Christian  honesty  to  keep ; 
and  as  a  minister  of  Christ,  I  am  protected  by  the 
law  of  the  land  from  divulging  it  even  in  a  court  of 
justice.  (The  only  good  law  for  which  we  are 
indebted  to  the  Catholics.)  So  I  hope  you  will  not 
press  me  to  answer  any  questions  in  regard  to 

Mr ."     "Well,  Mr.  Stimson,  we  are  involved  in 

all  the  guilt  of  that  malicious  act  in  exposing  your 
life  on  that  night  you  came  from  the  school- 


126      FROM   THE    STAGE    COACH   TO    THE    PULPIT. 

house,  and  have  come  here  to-night  to  settle  the 
matter,  if  we  can." 

"  So  far  as  I  am  concerned  in  this  aifair,  I  have  no 
price  to  set,  no  sum  to  ask.  Have  you  arranged 
the  matter  with  your  God  and  King?  Your  sin 
against  Him  is  vastly  of  more  importance  to  you  than 
ail  my  interest.  Do  you  feel  that  your  acts  in  this 
case  are  a  great  sin  against  God?  and  that  unre- 
pented  of  and  unforgiven,  they  will  peril  your 
interests  in  eternity?  I  hope,  young  gentlemen, 
you  will  consider  this  matter  in  its  true  light,  and 
bestow  on  it  the  thought  its  importance  demands." 
"  We  called,  Mr.  Stimson,  to  adjust  the  damages  to 
your  property,  and  we  are  willing  to  satisfy  you  for 
all  the  inconvenience  and  loss  you  may  have  sus 
tained.  If  had  kept  still  and  not  acted  the 

fool  by  exposing  the  matter,  nothing  would  have 
come  of  it.  It  will  teach  us  after  this  to  know  what 
company  we  keep.  Will  you  tell  us  how  much  we 
must  pay  you  for  your  damages  ?  We  are  willing, 
Elder,  to  give  you  a  good  round  price  to  settle  it." 
I  said  sternly,  "  Why,  dear  young  men,  no  money 
consideration  could  tempt  me  to  expose  my  life  as  it 
was  exposed  on  that  night.  Sitting  in  a  conveyance 
behind  such  a  spirited  horse  as  that  of  mine,  if  one 


FIRST    PASTORATE.  127 

of  the  reins  or  tugs  had  given  way,  or  a  wheel  had 
run  off,  the  human  probability  is,  I  should  have  been 
severely  injured,  if  not  killed  outright.  I  appeal 
to  you,  as  common-sense  men,  what  is  the  price  ?  " 
"  Oh,  well,  we  only  meant  the  damage  to  the  carriage 
and  harness.  We  are  willing  to  pay  a  good  round 
price  for  our  folly.  Now,  tell  us  how  much  and  we 
will  pay  it  if  we  can."  "I  shall  take  nothing.  The 
mere  expense  of  repairing  buggy  and  harness  is 
trifling.  'I  shall  take  nothing  from  you.  I  would 
like  to  see  you  in  the  same  deep  exercise  of  mind 
about  your  sins  and  lost  condition,  as  your  friend 
was  a  week  ago  last  Sunday.  It  would  be  worth 
more  to  me  than  money  counted  by  hundreds." 
"Oh,  well,  Elder,  he  believes  in  a  judgment  day, 
and  in  hell,  and  eternal  punishment,  and  all  that 
kind  of  thing.  We  do  not.  We  believe  God  loves 
and  will  be  merciful  to  His  erring  creatures,  and 
will  not  be  as  exacting  as  men  are  to  their  fellow- 
men.  It's  getting  late,  and  we  have  a  long  way  to 
go,  and  if  you  won't  take  anything  for  your  expenses 
and  trouble,  we  will  be  going  home."  "Be  pleased 
to  wait  a  moment.  I  will  call  Mrs.  Stirnson  in,  and 
we  will  have  a  season  of  prayer  before  we  separate." 
To  which  they  reluctantly  consented.  After  worship 


128      FROM    THE    STAGE    COACH    TO   THE    PULPIT. 

they  departed,  saying  at  the  door,  "  We  hope,  Elder, 
you  won't  make  this  matter  public."  I  replied,  "It 
will  be  public  enough  at  the  judgment  day,  and  I 
fear,  to  your  everlasting  regret." 

The  next  Saturday,  at  our  covenant  meeting,  the 
first-named  of  the  three  young  men  applied  for 
membership,  relating  his  experience  to  the  church, 
and  the  day  following,  "obeyed  from  the  heart  the 
form  of  doctrine  he  had  received."  On  the  Sabbath, 
I  preached  from  these  words — Luke  xvii.  17  :  "And 
Jesus  answering  said,  Were  there  not  ten  cleansed? 
but  where  are  the  nine?"  The  effect  upon  the 
congregation  was  subduing.  Many  wept  aloud  and 
others  shouted  for  joy.  It  was  a  good  day  to  the 
people  of  God.  The  two  young  men  were  not 
present,  but  had  gone  to  hear  the  Rev.  Mr.  Hiscox, 
who  preached  in  another  part  of  the  "town,"  where 
they  heard  hell  spoken  of  as  an  "old  heathen  fable." 

The  end  of  the  two  young  men — they  both  became 
confirmed  Universalists.  One  descended  to  a 
country  tavern-keeper  of  the  lowest  grade,  and 
died  a  drunkard  in  Michigan.  The  other  became  a 
poor,  wandering  vagabond,  and  died  a  few  years 
since  near  Battle  Creek,  in  the  same  State.  The 
first  of  the  trio  sustained  a  good  character  from  the 


FIRST   PASTORATE.  129 

time  of  his  uniting  with  the  Church,  respected  and 
loved  by  all  who  knew  him.  He  often  expressed 
his  joy  and  wonder  at  the  amazing  grace  of  God  in 
his  salvation,  and  would  sing  : 

"  Why  was  I  made  to  hear  thy  voice, 

And  enter  while  there's  room  ? 
When  thousands  make  a  wretched  choice, 
And  rather  starve  than  come. 

4  'Twas  the  same  love  that  spread  the  feast 

That  sweetly  drew  us  in; 
Else  we  had  still  refused  to  taste, 
And  perished  in  our  sin." 

During  this  summer  I  had  more  appointments  up 
in  the  town  of  Koyalton,  then  quite  destitute  of 
religious  privileges,  given  to  Sabbath  desecration 
and  trifling  amusements.  The  place  of  holding 
meeting  was  a  new  log  school-house,  surrounded 
with  a  settlement  composed  mainly  of  Mohawk 
Dutch.  They  thought  they  were  Christians  by 
birth-right.  They  had  the  vaguest  idea  of  what  the 
latter  term  means.  Of  course,  there  is  no  such 
thing  now  ;  so  that  for  being  ignorant  of  an  obsolete 
idea,  we  could  hardly  blame  them.  But,  to  think 
and  call  themselves  Christians,  when  they  were 
destitute  of  the  first  principles  of  practical  Chris- 


130      FROM    THE    STAGE    COACH   TO    THE    PULPIT. 

tianity,  was  hardly  as  excusable.  Still,  they  had 
all  been  sprinkled  in  infancy — so  they  learned  from 
their  parents  or  near  friends,  if  they  ever  took  the 
trouble  to  inquire — and  of  course  this  made  them 
Christians.  If  such  a  method  of  entrance  in  the 
Kingdom  of  Heaven  involved  any  conflict — and  the 
Bible  speaks  about  a  conflict — it  must  be  the 
physical  conflict  of  the  infant  in  resisting  the 
performance  of  the  rite. 

After  the  second  or  third  meeting,  I  was  informed, 
as  I  came  into  the  place,  that  I  could  not  have  the 
school-house  any  more,  as  I  had  offended  one  of  the 
trustees  by  what  I  had  said  about  whisky-drinking, 
Sabbath-breaking,  dancing,  etc.  I  was  further  told 
that  the  said  "Christian"  trustee  had  locked  the 
school-house,  and  had  the  key  in  his  pocket.  But, 
if  I  said  so,  the  house  should  be  opened,  if  they 
had  to  have  a  fight  for  it.  "O,  no  !  O,  no  !"  said  I ; 
"we  can  have  meeting  as  well  out-doors  as  in  a  log 
school-house.  God  is  not  confined  to  temples  made 
with  hands."  So  I  drove  up  to  the  place,  and  there 
sat  the  trustee  on  the  door-sill,  with  eight  or  ten  of 
his  friends  surrounding  him  as  a  kind  of  body-guard, 
for  they  evidently  expected  a  conflict  of  "Yankee 
snap  with  Dutch  muscle."  All  about  the  house 


FIRST   PASTORATE.  131 

were  men,  women  and  children  in  waiting  for 
meeting  to  open,  or  the  battle  to  begin,  as  the  case 
might  turn.  The  old  two-huudred-and-twenty-five- 
pound  avoirdupois  trustee  looked  daggers  at  me, 
and  knit  his  brow  in  true  Mohawk  style.  He  evi 
dently  was  carrying  a  heavy  cargo  of  whisky. 

I  at  once  said,  "Brethren  and  friends,  make  some 
seats  out  of  rails  and  billets  of  wood,  and  back  up 
your  wagons,  and  we  will  extemporize  a  meeting 
house."  And  I  struck  up  singing  : 

"  Religion  is  a  glorious  treasure  ; 
It  fills  our  hearts  with  joy  and  love." 

Soon  all  were  in  a  comfortable  situation  to  hear 
the  Gospel  of  Jesus. 

I  announced  as  my  subject,  "Love  ;"  text,  Romans 
xiii.  10:  "Love  worketh  no  ill  to  his  neighbor; 
therefore,  love  is  the  fulfilling  of  the  law."  I 
arranged  it  thus:  1.  What  is  "Love?"  2.  Who 
is  in  possession  of  it?  3.  Its  effects.  As  I  pro 
ceeded,  the  audience  increased  till  there  was  no 
more  sitting  room — rails  and  wagons  all  full.  I 
stood  in  my  carryall  for  a  pulpit.  When  the  noise 
of  carriages  and  wagons  coming  up  interrupted, 
I  would  sing  a  moment,  and  then  go  on  again. 


132      FROM    THE    STAGE    COACH   TO    THE    PULPIT. 

At  length  my  big  Dutch  trustee  friend  arose  from 
the  door-sill  and  cried  out:  "Holdt  on,  Domina. 
I'll  unshet  de  schule-house,  un  de  vimmin  and  little 
schildren  may  go  in,  and  de  mans  and  pigger  poys 
may  stay  as  dey  am."  I  said,  "Thank  you,  Mr.  B. 
I  knew  you  were  a  good  neighbor,  if  we  could 
only  get  it  out  of  you,  and  here  it  comes."  So 
we  sang : 

"  From  whence  does  this  union  arise, 
That  hatred  is  conquered  by  love ! " 

In  closing  up  my  sermon  I  did  not  fail  to 
"improve"  the  circumstance  in  hand,  making  a 
strong  point  of  my  stout  Dutchman.  This  was  the 
last  of  any  trouble  in  that  place  as  long  as  we  held 
meetings  there. 


PARMA.  133 


CHAPTER  X. 

LEAVING    ALABAMA PARMA. 

/  I  \HE  Church  in  Parma  extended  me  a  call  to 
-L  become  their  pastor,  in  the  fall  of  1835.  The 
first  thought  of  such  a  move  did  not  impress  me 
favorably.  It  was  here  in  Alabama  I  commenced 
my  ministry,  and  was  ordained  to  the  sacred  work 
of  preaching  Christ.  I  had  enjoyed  the  confidence 
of  a  noble  young  church.  Many  of  its  members  I 
had  baptized  and  introduced  into  the  body.  I  then 
thought  there  was  not  another  such  church  on  the 
face  of  the  earth. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  church  in  Parma  wis 
smaller  and  more  compact.  As  a  consequence, 
they  would  not  require  as  much  pastoral  work  and 
out-station  preaching,  giving  me  more  time  for 
study ;  which  I  much  needed  and  could  not  easily 
get  in  Alabama,  with  a  field  twelve  miles  square 
and  six  out-stations.  Parma  had  a  good  meeting 
house,  and  was  considered  a  strong  church.  They 
would  give  me  a  better  support.  I  accepted  the 
invitation,  and  moved  into  the  field  in  December. 


134      FROM   THE   STAGE   COACH   TO  THE   PULPIT. 

But  it  took  only  a  few  weeks  to  prove  to  me  that 
I  had  not  found  the  paradise  I  had  anticipated. 
I  hope  I  shall  not  be  misunderstood,  or  seem  to 
complain.  By  no  means.  There  were  excellent 
men  and  women,  not  a  few  whose  memory  is 
blessed.  Refreshing  is  it  to  call  them  up  as  they 
appeared  to  us  then,  and  if  it  were  not  that  it 
might  appear  invidious,  we  would  give  their  names. 
A  number  of  things  made  the  contrast  between  the 
two  churches  plainly  visible,  especially  to  a  pastor: 
first,  the  church  at  Parma  was  slow  to  move 
out  of  the  deep-worn  ruts  of  bad  habits — one 
was  to  have  but  one  meeting  on  the  Sabbath.  A 
previous  pastor  had  produced  this  custom,  by 
preaching  one  good,  long,  doctrinal,  sound,  orthodox, 
Calvinistic,  Baptistic  sermon.  The  adjective  "long" 
meant,  when  practically  translated,  two  hours. 
Two  hours  of  monotonous  voice  are  equal  to  a  dose 
of  opium. 

My  first  effort  was  to  break  in  upon  this  custom, 
by  having  a  second  service  in  the  school-house  in  a 
central  place.  This  would  be  Sabbath  evening. 
But  as  soon  as  I  suggested  it,  I  met  opposition. 
The  main  reason  was,  "We  once  tried  it,  and  a  class 
of  roughs  came  in,  and  so  disturbed  the  meeting  that 


PARMA.  135 

we  had  to  give  it  up."  "Well,  will  you  come  and 
sustain  the  pastor  by  your  presence  and  prayers  ?  I 
think  I  can  manage  any  rude  and  disorderly  per 
sons."  They  finally  consented  that  I  should  make 
the  appointment.  I  did  so,  and  the  next  Sabbath 

had  the  meeting  at  the  L school-house. 

Just  as  I  had  announced  my  subject,  the  door 
opened,  and  in  came  about  a  dozen  men  and  large 
boys,  with  fantastic  dress  and  most  indescribable 
faces  and  general  appearance,  for  a  civilized  commu 
nity.  Every  seat  being  taken,  they  stood  up  around 
the  stove.  Of  course  a  general  snicker,  and  then  a 
burst  of  laughter,  arose  through  all  the  house.  I 
stopped  and  stood  silent  and  still  for  a  minute  or 
more,  looking  at  these  sons  of  the  lost  tribe  of  the 
devil,  for  I  could  think  of  nothing  else  but  some 
infernal  prison-house,  and  these  as  the  product  of 
its  general  jail  delivery.  Some  of  the  men  were 
dressed  in  women's  clothing;  others  had  broad 
shirts  over  their  outer  garments.  Others  still  had 
small  baskets  on  their  heads  instead  of  caps.  Some 
had  leather  and  some  rude  tin  spectacles.  One  had 
a  kitten  for  a  handkerchief.  He  would  take  it  from 
his  pocket  and  wipe  his  nose  on  it;  then  pass  it  to 
the  next.  One  had  a  large  sheepskin  with  the  wool 


136      FKOM   THE    STAGE    COACH    TO    THE    PULPIT. 

on,  through  which  he  had  a  hole  cut  in  the  middle. 
Thrusting  his  head  through  the  hole,  it  came  over 
the  upper  part  of  his  person  like  a  shirt. 

I  said  to  some  small  boys  in  front,  "Will  you 
please  to  give  these  friends  your  seats  ?  "  They  at 
once  complied  and  the  group  started  forward  and 
occupied  them.  When  quiet  was  restored,  I 
attempted  to  proceed  with  my  discourse,  but  had  gone 
on  only  a  very  short  time  when  one  took  the  basket 
from  his  head,  put  a  few  biscuits  into  it  from  his 
pocket,  then  taking  out  a  bottle,  began  passing  it 
around  to  his  crew.  I  stopped  and  looked  at  them 
with  a  steady  gaze  for  a  moment,  and  then  addressed 
the  audience  as  follows:  "Well,  friends,  I  have 
seen  something  of  the  wTorld  in  its  worst  forms,  and 
humanity  in  its  most  forlorn  and  depraved  condition. 
I  have  been  among  stage  drivers  and  sailors,  among 
lumbermen  and  raftsmen  ;  I  have  been  among  Indians 
and  plantation  negroes,  among  drunkards  and  des 
peradoes.  But  what  I  have  seen  to-night  caps  the 
climax.  Here  in  Parma  can  be  seen  babboons  and 
monkeys,  jackalls  and  ourang-outangs,  and  all  walk 
upright,  just  as  the  individuals  of  the  human  species 
walk,  and  come  to  a  Christian  meeting  to  show  that 
they  are  not  far  removed  from  some  idea  of  "human 


PARMA.  137 

intelligence.  It  may  be  they  have  come  here  to 
night  for  the  noble  purpose  of  seeking  an  interest 
in  the  salvation  of  sinners.  If  so,  let  us  pray  that 
God  will  enlighten  them." 

By  this  time  deep  silence  pervaded  the  congrega 
tion.  All  was  as  still  as  a  grave-yard.  Each  rowdy 
looked  at  his  fellow  rowdy  with  blank  astonishment, 
when  the  leader  got  up  and  began  saying,  "I  am 
ashamed  of  myself  and  of  my  conduct,  and  now, 
boys,  let's  behave  like  human  beings,  and  I  promise 
this  community  and  this  minister  that  I  will  never 
do  the  like  again.  And  if  you  will  not  believe  it 
and  take  my  word  for  it,  I  will  give  good  security 
for  my  behavior  hereafter."  This  man  J.  H.  was 
outwardly  a  moral  fellow,  and  his  wife  was  a  member 
of  the  church ;  yet  he  had  let  himself  down  to  the 
idea  that  it  was  smart  to  act  like  a  fool.  And  the 
boys  thought  it  a  privilege  to  act  the  fool  under  such 
a  leader.  But  this  w^as  the  last  disturbance  at  the 
L.  school  house. 

During  this  winter  and  spring  I  enjoyed  a  precious 
revival,  and  was  assisted  for  a  number  of  days  by 
that  able  preacher,  the  Rev.  Ichabod  Clark,  D.  D., 
of  sweet  memory,  and  Rev.  Zenas  Case,  of  Ogden, 
whose  praise  was  in  all  the  churches  as  a  man  of 
God. 


138   FROM  THE  STAGE  COACH  TO  THE  PULPIT. 

In  the  spring,  I  organized  our  Sunday  School  under 
a  new  management,  and  made  a  change  also  in  the 
order  of  our  worship,  having  two  sermons  at  the  meet 
ing-house  instead  of  one.  But  the  old  settled  habit 
of  the  church  was  a  wet  blanket  on  the  enterprise. 
They  would  have  opposed  a  second  service  of  any 
kind,  a  prayer  and  praise  meeting  much  more  than 
a  preaching  service.  As  soon  as  the  sermon  was 
well  under  way,  the  next  thing  in  order  was  sleep. 
This  was  bad  habit  number  two.  As  soon  as  the 
morning  service  was  over,  there  was  a  general  start 
for  home,  parents  taking  the  children.  So  the  Sab 
bath  School  service  was  small  comparatively,  and  the 
afternoon  was  sparsely  attended,  plenty  of  empty 
slips  at  a  discount. 

But  I  prayed  for  patience  to  endure  all  things  for 
the  elect's  sake.  And  we  had  many  sympathizing 
friends  in  the  church  who  stayed  up  our  hands  in  the 
day  of  battle.  Among  the  number  was  the  widow 
of  the  late  pastor,  Rev.  Stephen  H.  Weaver. 

Here  let  it  be  remarked,  that  if  a  church  is  so 
fortunate  as  to  have  such  a  widow  of-  a  pastor  as  a 
member,  every  effort  ought  to  be  made  to  render 
her  stay  in  the  church  and  her  widowhood  as 
protracted  as  possible.  For,  of  all  helpers  to  a 


PARMA.  139 

pastor,  if  he  is  married,  the  widow  of  a  former 
pastor  may  be  the  most  helpful.  There  is  a 
difference  in  widows  ;  I  wish  to  have  it  understood. 
A  widow  of  a  pastor,  she  being  a  widow  indeed,  and 
moreover,  an  unselfish  Christian,  is  a  bright  jewel  in 
any  church.  Such  know  more  than  any  one  else 
about  the  real  character  of  the  different  members, 
and  they  get  at  the  very  gist  of  the  difficulties  in  the 
way  of  the  cause.  They  have  gone  through  the 
whole  round  of  the  life  of  the  church,  and  are  now 
living  in  an  exalted  sort  of  existence,  where  their 
vision  is  unclouded  with  personal  feeling.  Such 
widows  of  former  pastors  are  a  sort  of  presiding 
angel  band  to  the  churches.  Very  occasionally  there 
is  a  slight  deviation  from  this  angelic  rule.  Once  in 
a  great  while  there  is  a  great  deviation. 

But  Mrs.  Weaver  was  one  of  the  desirable  kind. 
She  said :  "Brother  Stimson,  don't  let  these  things 
trouble  you  so.  It  will  injure  your  health  and  unfit 
you  for  labor  in  the  future.  I  think  it  affected  Mr. 
Weaver  so,  and  was  one  of  the  causes  of  his  early 
death."  This  was  a  sort  of  "bittersweet"  consolation 
to  my  restive  spirit,  and  I  tried  to  make  the  applica 
tion  as  best  I  could.  That  word  was  a  godsend 
to  me. 


140      FROM    THE    STAGE    COACH   TO   THE   PULPIT. 

As  I  remarked,  the  unholy  custom  of  sleeping  in 
church  had  been  brought  on  imperceptibly,  by  long, 
monotonous  sermons  of  a  previous  age,  and  had  been 
imbibed  by  the  younger  people  by  force  of  example. 
One  sinner  destroyeth  much  good,  was  illustrated  in 
this  case.  I  resolved  on  a  reform  by  mild  means, 
such  as  short  sermons,  brief  reading,  singing  two  to 
four  stanzas — some  of  the  hymns  had  twenty — short 
prayers,  and  then  a  sudden  start  right  off  with  the 
discourse — no  apologies.  Apologies  are  bad,  espe 
cially  in  the  pulpit.  But  all  this  strategy  failed,  and 
I  was  irritated  like  a  hornet  in  a  spider's  web  :  plenty 
of  fluttering  and  buzzing  and  trying  to  sting,  but 
nothing  accomplished.  "Caught,"  I  thought,  "and 
how  to  get  away  is  the  question." 

At  length  we  hit  upon  a  new  expedient.  The 
chorister  of  the  church,  a  brother  S.,  was  a  grand 
singer;  his  two  daughters  sang  like  nightingales,  and 
his  son  was  capital  on  the  bass  viol.  I  called  on  him 
one  Saturday,  and  made  this  request :  that  the  next 
day  at  the  morning  service,  he  and  his  daughters 
should  arise  at  any  time  during  the  sermon  that  I 
should  think  best,  and  sing  the  hymn  : 

"Awake,  my  soul,  in  joyful  lays," 


PAEMA.  141 

There  must  be  no  pitching  of  the  key,  no  bass  viol, 
but  a  prompt  start,  right  off,  like  a  steamboat.  He 
consented,  and  I  retired  to  the  study,  to  arrange  for 
the  new  tack  on  the  sleepers.  I  arranged  two  ser 
mons.  One  from  Isaiah  lii.  1,  "Awake,  awake,  put 
on  thy  strength,  O  Zimi."  The  second  was  from 
Matt.  xxvi.  45,  "Sleep  on  now,  and  take  your  rest." 
So  after  the  preliminary  exercises  of  the  morning, 
I  started  out  on  the  former  text,  "Awake,  awake," 
etc.,  quite  moderately,  in  a  measured  tone,  making 
a  statement  of  the  importance  of  the  church  being 
awake,  in  an  active  state  of  spiritual  enjoyment,  etc. 
I  had  proceeded  only  about  ten  minutes,  when  in  all 
parts  of  the  house,  in  the  galleries  and  below,  could 
be  seen  heads  thrown  back  and  eyes  closed,  others 
nodding,  and  still  others  with  heads  too  devoutly 
bowed  on  the  railing  in  front  of  them.  I  stopped 
short :  "Will  brother  S.  sing  two  or  three  verses  of 
a  hymn  while  we  look  up  another  text,  as  we  see 
the  one  we  have  is  not  appropriate  this  morning?" 
And  off  the  singing  went :  "Awake,  my  soul,"  in  a 
good,  lively  manner. 

The  whole  congregation  was  like  a  miniature 
resurrection;  men  snatching  up  their  hats,  women 
adjusting  their  shawls,  others  rubbing  their  eyes  as 


142   FROM  THE  STAGE  COACH  TO  THE  PULPIT. 

if  to  discover  the  situation,  and  some  taking  out  their 
watches  to  see  what  time  it  was.  And  still  the  sing 
ing  went  on  to  the  fourth  stanza : 

"  Soon  shall  I  pass  the  gloomy  vale, 
Soon  all  my  mortal  powers  shall  fail." 

When  the  singing  ceased,  I  called  their  attention 
to  the  other  text:  "Sleep  on  now,  and  take  your 
rest."  The  most  of  them  had  thought  meeting  was 
out,  and  were  very  reluctant  about  sitting  down 
again,  and  still  were  unwilling  to  leave  without  the 
benediction;  and  so,  quietly  and  deliberately  took 
their  seats,  while  I  explained  the  reason  for  the 
second  subject,  and  announced  the  following  order  : 

1.  Why  this  liberty?  2.  The  bad  influence  of 
sleepy  Christians.  3.  The  application  of  the  subject 
to  our  present  condition. 

I  have  always  felt  somewhat  gratified  with  the 
reflection  that  at  least  one  discourse  of  mine  in  Parma 
was  listened  to  without  a  sleepy  Christian  in  the 
house.  Twenty  years  after,  I  went  back  to  assist 
their  pastor  in  a  meeting,  and  many  referred  to  that 
sermon  as  the  cause  of  then*  resolving  never  to  sleep 
again  in  the  house  of  worship 

It  is  now  a  sweet  reflection,  after  nearly  forty  years 


PARMA.  143 

are  passed,  that  many  of  them  have  "fallen  asleep  in 
Jesus,"  waiting  for  that  delightful  morning  of  the 
resurrection  of  the  just,  which  God  will  hasten  in  His 
time.  Then,  blessed  thought,  there  will  be  no  more 
slumbering. 

The  following  tenth  day  of  November,  I  buried 
the  wife  of  my  youth. 

OBITUARY. 

DIED  at  Parma,  New  York,  on  the  tenth  day  of  November,  eighteen 
hundred  and  thirty-six,  Mrs.  Almedia  Stimson,  wife  of  Rev.  H.  K. 
Stimson,  aged  twenty-eight  years. 

Mrs.  Stimson  first  embraced  religion  and  united  with  the  Baptist 
church  at  East  Mendon,  Morris  Co.,  N.  Y.,  in  the  fall  of  eighteen 
hundred  and  thirty.  During  her  short  and  unostentatious  career,  she 
honored  her  Christian  profession  by  a  consistent  walk,  a  cheerful  con 
secration  of  herself  to  the  service  of  the  saints  and  a  ready  co-operation 
in  the  various  measures  connected  with  the  advancement  of  the 
Kingdom  of  Christ. 

During  a  protracted  illness  she  bore  her  sufferings  with  Christian 
meekness  and  patience,  and  the  latter  part  of  her  time,  with  confidence 
of  hope,  often  observing  that  death  would  be  a  welcome  messenger. 
When  the  period  of  her  dissolution  approached,  and  her  exhausted 
frame  sunk  under  the  chilling  dews  of  death,  she  requested  her  hus 
band  to  bid  her  friends  farewell  for  her,  and  as  if  longing  to  depart, 
exclaimed :  "  Come,  Lord  Jesus ;  come  quickly  1 "  and  with  these 
words  fell  asleep. 

Thus  another  servant  is  dismissed  from  the  field  of  toil,  and  gone  to 
rest.  A  husband  with  four  small  children  survives  to  mourn  his  early 
loss.  May  he  have  the  sympathies  of  his  brethren,  and  what  is 
infinitely  more,  the  favor  of  Him  whose  grace  can  irradiate  the  darkest 
scenes,  and  make  us  joyful  even  in  tribulation. 

WELLARD  JUDD. 


144   FROM  THE  STAGE  COACH  TO  THE  PULPIT. 

The  same  month,  I  received  a  call  to  become 
pastor  of  the  church  in  Bethany,  Genesee  County, 
New  York.  The  Baptist  church  in  Bethany  was 
then  one  of  the  strong  churches  in  the  Genesee 
Association,  with  one  of  the  best  church  edifices  in 
Western  New  York.  Its  membership  was  composed 
of  the  best  and  the  most  respected  portion  of  the 
community.  Its  congregation  was  large,  and  made 
up  mostly  of  the  young  people  of  the  town,  with  a 
complete  choir  of  singers  led  by  James  Prescott,  for 
years  a  man  of  blessed  memory. 

After  an  acquaintance  of  a  few  weeks,  I  accepted 
their  call,  and  at  once  felt  at  home  among  them. 
There  was  but  one  drawback  to  produce  discontent 
ment.  My  family  was  broken  up,  my  dear  children 
were  scattered  in  three  different  families,  all  in 
Parma.  I  was  fortunate  in  getting  them  good 
places,  where  I  was  confident  they  would  receive  all 
the  care  dear  friends  could  render.  Still  they  were 
motherless  and  homeless,  and  absent  from  father; 
and  I  felt  my  separation  from  them.  Still,  every 
thing  was  done  by  the  congregation  to  make  my 
situation  pleasant  and  my  ministry  effective,  as 
results  will  show. 

There  were  evidences  at  once  of  a  Divine  work 


PARMA.  145 

all  over  the  town.  The  three  congregations  of  the 
place  joined  in  a  series  of  meetings,  commencing 
with  the  Baptist  church,  and  holding  there  twenty- 
eight  days;  and  then  at  the  Presbyterian  as  long. 
All  winter  there  was  a  continued  refreshing  of  the 
Spirit,  in  which  large  numbers  of  the  youth,  and 
many  of  the  aged,  were  hopefully  led  to  embrace 
Jesus  as  their  Prophet,  Priest  and  King.  Just  a 
little  unpleasantness  was  felt  because  so  many  of 
the  converts  joined  the  Baptist  church.  Out  of  one 
hundred,  about  eighty  were  baptized  in  the  likeness 
of  Christ's  death  and  resurrection,  and  joined  our 
church. 

For  all  this  I  was  not  to  blame.  I  never  prose 
lyted.  Only  I  could  not  turn  those  away  who 
voluntarily  offered  themselves.  This  was  a  prosper 
ous  year  to  the  church,  in  more  than  one  sense. 
It  was  a  year  of  numerical  growth  among  the  mem 
bers,  and  it  paved  the  way  for  subsequent  advance 
ment  upon  the  powers  of  darkness,  and  made  the 
people  ready  in  every  way  for  greater  things  to 
come. 

Late  in  the  fall,  I  began  to  be  depressed  in  spirit 
about  the  condition  of  sinners  who  were  without 
hope  and  out  of  Christ.  So  deep  and  constant  was 


146       FROM    THE    STAGE    COACH    TO    THE    PULPIT. 

the  distress,  that  I  could  not  sleep  or  enjoy  my 
daily  food.  And,  what  added  to  the  acuteness  of 
this  state  of  mind,  was  the  fact  that  the  church  did 
not  seem  to  realize  its  responsibility.  After  receiving 
the  tokens  of  God's  matchless  goodness  during  the 
year  now  passed,  there  was  a  singular  lack  of  deep 
anxiety  for  sinners.  There  were  no  divisions  among 
us ;  no  heart-burnings  between  brethren ;  congrega 
tions  large  and  attentive  to  the  Word  and  Ordinances 
of  God;  still,  sinners,  unmoved  by  the  truth, 
perished. 

Thus  things  went  on  until  the  last  of  November 
or  first  of  December,  when  my  depression  in  spirit 
became  almost  intolerable,  and  it  was  with  great 
effort  that  I  could  get  my  consent  to  preach ;  and 
when  I  did,  it  seemed  like  speaking  against  a  strong 
wind,  only  to  be  blown  back  upon  me.  I  thought 
the  time  had  come  to  close  my  connection  with  the 
church  at  Bethany,  if  not  to  close  my  ministry 
altogether.  While  in  this  state  of  mind,  I  had  an 
appointment  at  an  out-station  called  "White's 
school-house"  for  Sabbath  evening.  The  night  was 
dark,  and  a  drizzling  rain  set  in  just  as  I  started 
from  home.  This,  added  to  my  already  darkened 
and  dampened  spirits,  made  everything  appear  beyond 


PARMA.  147 

endurance,  and  I  was  wholly  unhappy  and  unfit  to 
preach. 

As  I  had  gone  along,  I  concluded  that,  as  it  was 
rainy  and  dark,  there  would  be  few  or  none 
at  meeting,  and  I  should  be  relieved  of  the  duty  of 
trying  to  address  the  people.  But  as  I  got  within 
hearing  distance,  the  voice  of  singing  greeted  my 
ears,  and  as  I  neared  the  house,  I  saw  that  it  was 
jammed  full.  I  exclaimed,  in  the  bitterness  of  my 
soul,  "My  God,  my  God,  why  hast  thou  forsaken 
me?"  As  quick  as  thought,  "There,  that  is  a  good 
text  to  preach  from ;  try  it,  try  it  to-night."  I 
thought  to  myself,  "Where  is  it?  No  matter  where 
it  is,  try  it.  They  are  the  dying  words  of  Jesus  on 
the  cross."  I  hitched  my  horse  and  went  in,  to 
find  the  large  congregation  composed  mostly  of 
youth.  I  called  on  Brother  Russell  Morley,  who 
was  a  man  of  power  with  God,  to  pray.  But  I  got 
no  light  or  relief,  only  a  constant  ringing  in  my 
ears,  "My  God,  my  God,  why  hast  thou  forsaken 
me?" 

I  asked  them  to  sing  the  hymn  beginning : 

"  >Tis  a  point  I  long  to  know, 

Oft  it  causes  anxious  thought ; 
Do  I  love  the  Lord,  or  no? 
Am  I  his,  or  am  1  not? 


148      FROM   THE   STAGE   COACH   TO   THE   PULPIT. 

(There  may  be  special  occasions  when  the  singing 
of  these  lines  is  of  some  benefit  to  some  one.) 
They  sang  it  through,  many  with  subdued  voices. 
I  could  not  sing  at  all.  All  was  dark  as  midnight 
with  me.  An  awful  dread  weighed  upon  me  as  the 
time  drew  near.  As  I  arose  and  repeated  the 
words  of  the  dying  Son  of  God,  I  made  these 
impromptu  divisions  :  1st.  Why  God  forsook  His 
beloved  Son.  2d.  Why  He  will  forsake  impenitent 
sinners.  And  on  I  went  in  the  dark.  Oh,  that 
darkness  I  shall  never  forget !  Perhaps  I  talked 
thirty  minutes  or  more,  and  closed  the  meeting  as 
though  it  had  been  a  funeral,  and  went  home,  all 
but  determined  not  to  preach  any  more. 

The  next  Thursday  was  the  dedication  of  the 
Presbyterian  meeting-house,  in  which  services  I 
was  invited  to  take  a  part.  If  I  could  have  declined 
I  would  ;  but  could  not  without  giving  offense.  So 
I  went  as  the  ox  is  led  to  the  slaughter,  and 
remained  in  great  distress  of  mind.  As  the  meeting 
closed,  I  hastened  out  to  go  to  my  home,  but  while 
on  the  steps  of  the  house,  a  young  lady  touched 
my  elbow  in  the  crowd,  and  as  I  turned  about  to 
see  just  who  it  was,  I  discovered  a  Miss  Evaline  T., 
who  said :  "I  would  like  to  talk  with  you  a  few 


PARMA.  149 

minutes,  Elder,  if  it  would  be  convenient."  I 
replied,  "Certainly."  She  then  went  on  to  say: 
"  Your  sermon  last  Sunday  night  has  brought  me  to 
see  myself  as  a  lost  sinner,  and  this  morning  I 
found  peace  in  believing  in  Jesus  ;  and  I  wished  to 
see  and  tell  you  and  everybody  that  God,  for 
Christ's  sake,  has  forgiven  my  sins."  I  at  once  felt 
light  breaking  in  upon  my  mind  like  a  sunburst  in  a 
dark  day.  I  said,  "Well,  Miss  T.,  I  rejoice  with 
you ;  come,  go  to  my  house,  and  tell  Mrs.  Stimson 
of  it.  She  will  be  glad  to  hear  of  your  joy  and 
conversion  to  Jesus."  As  we  came  into  the  parlor, 
I  said :  "Wife,  here  is  Miss  T.,  who  has  good 
tidings  of  great  joy  to  tell  you ;"  and  she  went  on 
and  repeated  the  simple  story  of  her  conviction  and 
conversion.  "Now,"  I  said,  "I  have  one  request  to 
make  of  you.  Next  Lord's  day,  at  the  close  of  my 
discourse  in  the  morning,  I  want  you  to  tell  the 
congregation  what  Christ  the  Lord  has  done  for 
you."  She  replied,  "O,  I  shall  be  most  happy  to 
do  so." 

I  well  knew  the  effect  it  would  have,  for  she  was 
a  proud  and  giddy  girl.  All  her  family  were  of  a 
like  stripe.  Her  father  prided  himself  on  their 
pleasure-seeking  habits.  The  father  and  daughters, 


150      FROM   THE   STAGE    COACH   TO   THE   PULPIT. 

being  good  singers,  generally  sat  in  the  gallery. 
Sabbath  came,  and  a  large  congregation  filled  the 
house.  As  I  entered,  I  thought  it  was  like  Israel's 
Bethel,  "None  other  than  the  house  of  God  and 
gate  of  Heaven."  "  God  is  here."  The  text  was 
Isaiah  li.  3  :  "And  he  will  make  her  wilderness 
like  Eden,  and  her  desert  like  the  garden  of  the 
Lord ;  joy  and  gladness  shall  be  found  therein, 
thanksgiving  and  the  voice  of  melody." 

I  felt  like  another  man,  and  all  the  church  seemed 
transformed  into  a  better  state  of  religious  life.  As 
soon  as  I  closed  my  talk,  Miss  T.  rose  up  in  her 
place  in  the  gallery,  and  poured  out  a  full  soul  of 
joy,  and  then  of  invitation  to  her  young  associates 
in  sin  to  come  to  Jesus  and  be  saved.  It  was  like  a 
shock  of  electricity  on  saints  and  sinners.  In  a  few 
days  I  baptized  the  father,  mother,  Evaline,  Emily, 
Roscoe,  Clarence  and  Dell. 

Now,  our  work  had  assumed  such  proportions 
that  I  felt  the  need  of  aid.  So  I  resolved  to  get  an 
early  start  for  LeRoy,  nine  miles  off,  and  get  Brother 
Ichabod  Clark  to  come  over  and  help  us.  I  arrived 
before  any  of  the  family  was  up.  As  he  opened  the 
door,  he  exclaimed  :  "Why,  Brother  Stimson, 
what  brought  you  here  so  early  in  the  morning?" 


PARMA.  151 

"The  Lord,"  I  replied.  "Well,  then,  lam  glad  to 
have  you  come.  Take  a  seat,  and  I  will  stir  up  a 
fire."  "I  have  come  after  you,  Brother  Clark,  and 
you  must  go  with  me  to  Bethany,  'for  the  Lord  hath 
need  of  thee.'"  I  went  on  to  tell  him  what  the 
Master  was  doing  among  us,  and  he  replied,  "We 
will  see  after  breakfast." 

So,  after  the  meal  and  devotions,  we  went  to  his 
study.  He  began  by  saying:  "Now,  Brother 
H.  K.,  I  could  go  to  Bethany  if  it  was  duty  to  do 
so.  But  God  has  manifested  himself  to  your 
people  by  his  Spirit  in  a  most  wonderfuUway,  and 
you  and  your  church,  under  His  guiding  hand  and 
Spirit's  influence,  are  all  the  help  you  need.  Now, 
go  home  and  hold  on  to  Jesus  by  prayer,  and  do 
not  go  after  any  minister  or  man.  I  will  pray  for 
you,  but  can't  go."  Anybody  that  ever  knew 
Ichabod  Clark  can  imagine  with  what  decision  he 
said  this. 

I  thought  it  a  "bitter  pill,"  and  went  home  to  my 
work  with  less  confidence  in  self  or  any  man,  but 
with  stronger  confidence  in  God  and  the  Spirit's 
power  to  carry  on  the  revival. 

During  the  progress  of  the  gracious  work,  there 
was  not  a  little  agitation  in  some  quarters  on  the 


152       FROM   THE   STAGE   COACH   TO   THE   PULPIT. 

subject  of  baptism.  A  Dr.  J.  K.  B.  was  quite 
zealous  in  opposing  the  ordinance  as  we  administer 
it,  and,  as  they  admit,  is  Scriptural.  Whenever 
a  chance  occurred,  he  would  improve  it.  He  had 
been  a  "head-center"  in  one  of  the  churches  in 
town  for  a  number  of  years,  and  was  chagrined  to 
see  the  Baptists  prospering,  while  his  own  denomi 
nation  had  run  down  to  such  an  extent  that  the 
meeting-house  was  sold  for  a  school-house.  He 
was  one  day  called  on  to  attend  a  family  profession 
ally,  for  he  was  an  M.  D.  There  were  a  number 
of  ladies  from  the  neighborhood  present,  but  none 
of  them  Baptists,  except  one  old  lady  from  New 
England,  a  Mrs.  P.  She  was  seated  quietly  in  the 
corner.  Some  of  the  women  asked  the  Doctor  how 
the  revival  was  progressing  in  the  "Center."  He 
replied,  "Oh,  they  are  going  on  as  watery  as  ever. 
I  expect  we  shall  have  a  great  time  of  sickness  this 
spring,  as  that  pale-faced  Stimson  is  dipping  them 
every  Sunday  in  the  creek,  cutting  the  ice  and 
wading  through  the  deep  snow,  enough  to  kill  an 
Indian.  Half  of  them  will  have  the  consumption  in 
less  than  a  year.  As  for  Stimson,  he  won't  live  till 
April,  the  way  he  is  going  on.  I  wish  there  was 
some  law  to  stop  this  foolish  waste  of  human  life." 


PARMA.  153 

Mother  P.,  who  had  heard  it  all,  conceived  that 
he  had  spoken  disrespectfully  of  her  pastor,  and 
interrupted  him  in  his  tirade  by  saying  :  "Doctor, 
I  don't  like  to  hear  you  talk  so  about  our  dear 
minister.  We  all  think  he  is  a  good  man,  and  the 
Lord  is  manifestly  blessing  his  labors  here  in 
Bethany  and  all  around  us."  The  Doctor  interrupted 
her  with  :  "Oh,  Mrs.  P.,  I  did  not  think  you  were  a 
Baptist  when  I  spoke.  Beg  your  pardon,  madam. 
I  have  not  a  word  to  say  against  Elder  Stimson. 
He  is  a  good  neighbor,  and  as  social,  friendly  a  man 
as  we  have  at  the  'Center/  I  was  only  saying, 
Mother  P.,  that  I  thought  it  imprudent  for  him  to 
be  going  into  the  water  this  cold  weather  in  the 
winter,  exposing  himself  and  others."  She  replied  : 
"Well,  Doctor,  we  Baptists  believe  this  to  be  the 
right  way,  as  Jesus  went  into  the  water  and  the 
eunuch  went  into  the  water  to  be  'baptized;'  and 
then  young  converts  are  always  so  happy  when  they 
come  up  out  of  the  water.  I  know  I  was  when  I 
was  'baptized,'  and  it  was  a  cold  day  too,  and  it 
never  hurt  me  a  bit."  "Oh,  nonsense,"  says  the 
Doctor;  "I  was  happy  when  I  was  baptized,  and  I 
was  not  immersed,  either." 

"Well,  doctor,  du  tell  me  your  experience  about 


154   FROM  THE  STAGE  COACH  TO  THE  PULPIT. 

that,  for  in  Connecticut  I  have  seen  a  great  many 
sprinkled,  grown-up  people  and  babies  too,  and  I 
never  heard  any  express  a  bit  of  joy — no  more  than 
they  would  at  a  funeral.  Come,  now,  du  jest  tell 
us  all  about  it."  "Well,  mother  P.,  it  was  on  this 
wise  :  My  parents  had  neglected  to  have  me  bap 
tized  when  a  child.  I  was  a  young  man  when  I 
thought  I'd  better  join  the  church.  So  we  all  went 
down  to  the  little  brook,  one  bright  June  morning, 
and  /  went  down  into  the  water,  mother  P.,  and 
kneeled  down,  and  the  minister  dipped  up  some 
water  in  his  hand  and  poured  it  on  my  head,  saying, 
'Jonathan  K.  B.,  I  baptize  you  in  the  name  of  the 
Father,'  and  my  heart  dilated  with  joy ;  and  then  he 
dipped  his  hand  in  again  and  poured  the  water  on 
my  head,  and  said,  '  and  in  the  name  of  the  Son,' 
and  I  was  so  happy  I  thought  the  very  heavens 
would  open ;  and  then  the  minister  dipped  his  hand 
the  third  time  in  the  water,  and  poured  it  on  my 
head,  and  said,  *  in  the  name  of  the  Holy  Ghost ;'  and 
I  was  so  filled  with  joy  that  I  felt  that  I  should  go 
up  through  the  clouds."  "Why,  du  tell,  doctor," — 
the  old  lady  was  looking  him  full  in  the  face — "  du 
tell,  doctor;  if  you  had  gone  in  all  over  as  we 
Baptists  do,  what  would  have  become  of  you?" 


PAKMA.  155 

All  joined  in  a '  hearty  laugh  at  the  doctor's  ex 
pense.  The  old  lady's  logical  conclusion  was  more 
than  equal  to  his  trumped  up  wit.  As  soon  as  I 
heard  of  it,  I  called  on  the  doctor  to  know  about 
how  much  he  had  made  off  mother.  His  reply  was  : 
"Not  much." 

The  revival  went  on  in  grand  majesty,  clear  into 
August  of  that  year.  The  church  was  edified,  and 
much  people  was  added  to  the  Lord. 

The  Genesee  Baptist  Association  was  then  among 
the  largest  in  Western  New  York,  and  had  as  effi 
cient  a  class  of  ministers  as  could  be  found  in  any 
part  of  the  land.  But  few  of  them  had  what  is  called 
a  liberal  education,  but  they  were  men  of  great 
common  sense,  and  of  deep  piety.  And  those  among 
them  that  had  enjoyed  the  advantages  of  a  classical 
and  theological  training,  did  not  assume  that  they 
knew  all;  that  their  brethren  of  less  advantages  knew 
little  or  nothing.  But  there  was  a  mutual  disposi 
tion  to  help,  among  the  two  classes  of  the  precious 
brotherhood.  The  learned  always  gladly  and  frater 
nally  instructed  and  advised  the  younger  and  less 
learned.  Criticism  was  not  given  in  an  officious, 
offensive  way,  but  always  with  a  kindliness  that 


156       FROM   THE    STAGE    COACH   TO    THE    PULPIT. 

evinced  the  spirit  of  love  and  good  will.  It  was  also 
received  in  the  same  spirit  of  fraternal  affection. 

So  in  their  labors.  If  the  interests  in  one  part 
of  the  Association  demanded  help  from  outside,  the 
field  brethren  would  go  and  stay  one,  two  and  four 
weeks  at  a  time.  Thus  a  familiar  and  happy  state 
of  feeling  was  kept  up.  Our  associational  conferences 
were  great  sources  of  instruction  and  help  to  the 
youthful  ministers.  As  for  myself,  they  were  a  real 
theological  school  in  which  I  received  lessons  of 
great  usefulness  in  our  practical  pastoral  work,  and 
in  preaching  the  Gospel  to  my  people. 

In  many  cases  they  were  also  sources  of  spiritual 
profit  to  the  churches  where  they  were  held.  The 
members  would  come  out  and  fill  the  house  day  and 
night.  They  were  not  cold,  formal  convocations, 
presided  over  by  the  spirit  of  ministerial  etiquette 
and  dead  formality.  We  had  no  "D.  D."  among  us 
then  as  we  knew  of.  And  yet  we  had,  if  it  means 
teacher  of  Divine  Truth.  If  it  ever  had  any  mean 
ing,  that's  it.  We  were  not  slaves  of  technical, 
parliamentary  rules.  We  were  constrained  chiefly 
by  the  loyal  law  of  love.  The  motto  of  all  seemed 
to  be,  "Work  much;  love  much." 

The    decay   of  the   old    fashioned  Associational 


PARMA.  157 

meeting  is  certainly  to  be  regretted.  Whatever 
may  have  led  to  this  decay,  I  do  not  pretend  to  say ; 
but  of  its  fact  and  calamity,  there  can  be  no  ques 
tion.  Even  young  men  can  remember  the  time 
when  the  "Association"  meant  much  more  than  it 
does  to-day,  and  they  deplore  it — at  least  some  of 
them — as  well  as  we  whose  steps  are  Hearing  our 
resting  place.  I  am  told  by  some  apologists  of  the 
change,  that  this  is  an  age  of  steam  and  electricity, 
and  that  everything  is  changed  in  consequence. 
That  may  be  the  cause ;  if  it  is,  the  fact  is  just  as 
much  to  be  regretted.  For  we  cannot  love  each 
other  by  steam  and  electricity.  They  may  be  good 
in  their  places,  but  they  can  never  take  the  place  of 
fraternity.  As  a  substitute  for  the  old  methods  of 
conveyance,  and  intelligence  even,  they  do  not  work 
to  the  increase  of  our  religious  gatherings.  When 
the  travel  was  by  wagon  and  horseback,  the  breth 
ren  would  come  together  from  a  wider  circle  of 
country  than  now,  and  the  place  would  be  filled 
with  the  people  and  with  the  presence  of  the  Master. 
It  may  be  we  have  outgrown  the  necessity  for  such 
religious  gatherings.  It  may  be  that  they  belong 
to  a  past  age,  and  cannot  be  revived  in  their  primi 
tive  power.  If  so,  I  am  glad  that  I,  too,  belong  to 


158      FKOM   THE   STAGE   COACH   TO   THE   PULPIT. 

a  former  generation.  All  these  inventions  having  in 
view  quicker  transit  and  more  general  intelligence, 
are  good  and  to  be  sought  for,  provided  they  are 
used  for  God  and  His  Truth.  But  if  they  are  not 
used  by  us  for  this  noble  end,  their  materialistic 
influence  will  creep'into  our  spirits  and  deaden  them 
to  higher  spiritual  things.  "The  earth"  must  be 
made  to  help  "the  woman." 

Perhaps  I  should  give  a  list  of  these  ministers 
then  in  the  Genesee  Association.  Many  of  them 
have  passed  away.  I  will  mark  such  with  a  *  : 

Joseph  Elliott,*  of  Wyoming ;  Ichabod  Clark,*  of 
LeKoy;  W.  W.  Smith,  of  Batavia;  William 
Arthur,  of  Perry;  Abraham  Annis,*  of  Warsaw; 
Jesse  Elliott,  of  LaGrange ;  James  Read,*  of 
Castile;  O.  D.  Taylor,  of  Attica;  Leonard  Anson,* 
of  Pine  Hill;  Martain  Coleman,*  of  Byron ;  Elon 
Galusha,*  of  Perry ;  B.  N.  Leach,*  of  Middlebury ; 
Harrison  Daniels,  of  LeRoy ;  H.  B.  Ewell,  of 
Pavillion  ;  R.  C.  Palmer,  of  Wyoming ;  Bela 
Wilcox,*  of  Darien;  I.  H.  Roscoe,  of  Pembrok; 
David  Taylor,  of  York ;  C.  M.  Fuller,*  of  Pike ; 
John  Trowbridge,  of  Wethersfield  Springs ;  S.  M. 
Stimson,  of  Batavia ;  Augustus  Warren,  of  Alabama ; 
W.  I.  Crane,  of  Middlebury;  Emery  Curtis,  of 


PARMA.  159 

Morganville ;  S.  A.  Esty,*  of  Batavia,  and  James 
Mallory. 

There  may  be  others  whom  I  have  failed  to 
recollect.  Here  are  twenty-six,  and  just  one-half 
have  gone  to  the  better  land.  Thirteen,  besides 
myself,  remain.  The  most  of  ''them  are  younger 
than  myself,  three  or  four  are  older.  Those  of  the 
above  number,  who  enjoyed  a  partial  or  a  full  course 
of  study,  also  number  thirteen.  Only  three,  I 
believe,  had  received  a  full  course  at  college. 

At  our  ministerial  conferences,  we  had  the  custom 
of  giving  out  subjects  for  essays,  exegeses  and 
sketches  of  sermons,  purely  for  the  sake  of  mutual 
improvement — a  good  plan,  wherever  it  is  practiced. 
The  young  ministers  were  recommended  to  write 
sermons  and  deliver  them  to  their  congregations, 
and  then  bring  them  to  the  conference  for  criticism. 
Among  other  young  men  to  whom  was  assigned  this 
part  was  myself.  I  begged  to  be  excused,  as  I  was 
not  in  the  habit  of  writing  sermons.  But  no  excuse 
was  allowed,  and  it  was  urged  it  would  improve  me 
in  composition  and  the  arrangement  of  sermons. 
And,  then,  I  would  have  three  long  months  in 
which  to  prepare.  So  I  reluctantly  accepted  the 
situation,  and  as  soon  as  I  got  home  I  set  myself 
about  my  task. 


160   FROM  THE  STAGE  COACH  TO  THE  PULPIT. 

First,  I  got  me  a  quantity  of  sermon  paper. 
Second,  I  had  to  find  a  text.  I  chose  Jonah  iii.  2  : 
"Arise,  go  unto  Nineveh,  that  great  city,  and  preach 
unto  it  the  preaching  that  I  bid  thee."  Third,  I 
commenced  writing.  I  went  on  awhile,  and  then 
tore  it  up  and  put  it  in  the  fire ;  began  again,  and 
then  quit ;  and  after  a  month's  work  on  it,  had  got  a 
short  introduction  that  I  was  not  willing  even  my 
wife  should  read,  and  did  not  like  to  look  at  it 
myself  a  great  while  at  a  time.  Went  on  again  at 
odd  spells,  and  the  second  month  was  nearly  out 
and  I  had  not  finished  up  "firstly."  I  tried  to  hurry 
up,  and  the  more  I  hurried  the  slower  the  thing 
went.  I  began  to  be  worried.  Time  was  short, 
and  I  was  a  slow  writer,  that  was  evident.  I  now 
resolved  to  double  my  diligence  and  put  the  thing 
through  by  daylight  and  lamplight.  The  Saturday 
night  before  the  conference,  about  midnight,  I 
wrote  that  expressive  word,  "Amen."  As  the  rule 
was  to  read  it,  or  preach  it,  to  my  own  congregation 
before  I  presented  it  to  the  body  for  whom  it  was 
principally  prepared,  I  hid  the  precious  thing  in  my 
overcoat  and  started  for  the  meeting-house.  While 
the  choir  was  singing  the  first  hymn,  I  removed  the 
document  from  my  coat  pocket  to  the  Bible.  I  got 


PAKMA.  161 

a  deacon  to  pray,  for  I  dare  not.     The  choir  sang 
the  hymn : 

"  Oh,  for  a  thousand  tongues  to  sing 
My  dear  Redeemer's  praise." 

I  read  my  text,  and  just  at  that  moment  a  tall 
brother  up  in  the  gallery  stretched  up  his  long  neck 
to  see  what  I  was  about,  and  I  lost  my  place  by 
turning  over  two  leaves  at  once.  By  that  time  fifty 
eyes  were  gazing  from  each  side  of  the  gallery,  with 
a  silent  wonder,  "what  is  the  matter  with  the 
minister?"  I  then  re-read  the  text;  but,  "no  go." 
I  got  out  of  my  fix  by  saying :  "If  the  Lord  had 
called  me  to  preach,  He  never  had  intimated  in  the 
call  that  I  should  read  my  sermons."  On  which  I 
laid  the  precious  effusion  one  side,  went  about 
preaching  as  usual,  from  the  same  text,  and  had  a 
good  time.  I  related  the  facts  to  the  Association, 
and  the  brethren  very  kindly  excused  us,  and  never 
appointed  us  to  read  a  sermon  again.  We  make  no 
war  on  written  sermons,  but,  as  they  say  out  West, 
they  are  not  our  "best  holt." 


162   FROM  THE  STAGE  COACH  TO  THE  PULPIT. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

A  TRIAL   OF   OPEN   COMMUNION. 

IN  the  town  of  Bethany  was  a  "Free  Will  Baptist 
church,"  of  quite  a  large  membership.  This 
same  great  revival  had  extended  into  their  families 
extensively.  Their  children  had  a  strong  prefer 
ence  for  our  services.  Already  a  few  adults  had 
joined  with  us  recently  from  the  F.  W.  church,  as 
our  chorister  and  his  family,  and  one  of  our  deacons, 
had  joined  us  from  them  some  years  before.  But 
still  the  objection  existed  in  the  minds  of  many  of 
these  youth  to  that  great  bug-bear,  close  communion. 
For  some  cause,  they  had  become  alienated  from  the 
"Free  Church,"  as  it  was  called,  and  did  not  want 
to  join  there.  So  here  they  stood.  The  subject 
was  discussed  in  private  circulars,  and  ministers 
were  imported  into  town  who  encompassed  (if  not 
sea  and  land)  every  school  district  at  least,  and  the 
"war-whoop"  was  heard  on  every  hand,  "close 
communion." 


A  TRIAL   OF   OPEN   COMMUNION.  163 

I  kept  about  the  Master's  work,  taking  no  con 
spicuous  part  in  this  side  issue,  as  we  were  quite 
confident  the  Baptist  church  in  Bethany  could  live 
with  Divine  help,  if  these  persons  did  not  unite  with 
us.  Still,  the  door  was  open — the  doors  of  a  true 
church  are  always  open.  No  minister  has  the  power 
to  open  them.  Jesus  Christ  openeth,  and  no  man 
shutteth ;  and  shutteh,  and  no  man  openeth.  And 
they  could  come  in  if  they  would. 

At  a  covenant  meeting  with  a  full  attendance,  and 
when  many  were  presenting  themselves  as  candi 
dates  for  baptism,  and  all  were  in  a  high  state  of 
religious  enjoyment,  a  prominent  member  of  the 
church  arose  and  moved  "that  the  pastor  be 
instructed  to  invite  to  the  Lord's  table,  all  such 
Christians  as  had  been  immersed  on  a  profession  of 
their  faith,  and  were  in  good  standing  in  evangelical 
churches."  His  motion  was  at  once  seconded.  All 
was  as  still  as  a  dark  cellar.  The  old  men  and 
women  of  the  church  appeared  to  be  "dumfounded." 
The  brother  who  made  the  motion  was  a  man  of 
large  influence  in  the  community  and  in  the  church, 
as  was  the  brother  who  sustained  the  motion.  I 
suggested,  "Brethren,  this  is  an  important  step. 
Let  us  move  cautiously  in  the  matter.  If  any 


164      FROM   THE   STAGE    COACH   TO   THE   PULPIT. 

brother  or  sister  has  any  remarks  to  make,  use  your 
liberty  and  speak  freely.  Due  deference  will  be 
paid  to  your  views  and  feelings."  Not  a  word  was 
spoken.  All  silent.  "  Brethren,  what  will  you 
do?"  "Question,"  "Question,"  from  a  number. 
"Are  you  ready  for  the  motion?"  "The  question 
is  called  for."  And  the  vote  was  carried  without  a 
single  negative.  Eighty  voted  for  it. 

The  result  was,  these  "Free  Will"  friends  came 
into  the  church  like  a  flock  of  sheep  over  a  stone 
wall,  scared  by  wolves  on  the  other  side.  "The 
after  clap " :  The  church  was  like  the  boy  who 
drew  the  elephant :  no  hay  to  feed  him  on — no  stable 
to  put  him  in.  Decidedly  a  big  thing  on  our  hands. 
The  next  day  we  baptized  thirty-three,  and  at  the 
communion,  followed  the  instructions  given  by  the 
church  in  Bethany  (not  so  strictly  those  in  our 
commission  from  the  Lord) . 

Eighty-four  came  to  the  Supper  from  the  Presby 
terian,  Methodist,  and  Free  Will  Baptist  congre 
gations,  and  two  from  the  Universalists.  They  said 
"they  had  been  dipped;  and  thought  the  Univer 
salists  were  evangelical."  (Our  elephant  began  to 
bellow  for  food,  and  not  a  lock  of  hay  to  give  him.) 
The  next  month  at  the  Lord's  Supper,  there  came 


A   TRIAL   OF   OPEN   COMMUNION.  165 

thirty-one.  At  the  third,  thirteen  of  the  invited 
guests.  At  the  fourth,  five.  (Our  big  animal  gave 
signs  of  falling  into  a  decline.)  At  the  end  of  eight 
mouths,  none  of  our  invited  guests  cared  to  take 
the  trouble  to  commune  with  us.  (He  had  died  a 
natural  death.) 

The  church  soon  rescinded  the  motion  by  an 
overwhelming  majority,  and  voted  to  give  letters  to 
all  discontents.  Five  took  letters.  Three  of  them 
went  to  the  "Free  Wills,"  and  two  to  the  devil. 
(The  elephant  was  buried.) 


[A  few  Pedobaptists,  like  Dr.  John  Hall  of  New 
York,  have  the  magnanimity  to  accept  the  statement 
of  the  communion  question  as  w^e  Baptists  put  it. 
Which  is  the  more  bigoted?  The  "bigotry"  to  hold 
conscientiously  to  a  valid  principle,  if  it  is  unpopular, 
or  the  practice  of  ignoring  the  issue  we  make,  and 
raising  an  issue  wholly  foreign  to  the  question,  that 
we  do  not  make  ?  If  it  isn't  bigotry  or  dishonesty  to 
talk  as  many  Pedobaptists  talk  on  this  communion 
question,  as  related  to  the  Baptist  practice,  it  is  great 
ignorance  and  stupidity.  ("We  use  great  plainness 
of  speech.")  In  no  sense  is  the  communion  a  test 
of  Christianity.  To  say  that  by  our  practice  we 
" unchristianize "  other  denominations,  is  most  absurd. 
It  is  too  puerile  to  deserve  refutation,  especially  as 
it  has  been  refuted  from  time  immemorial.  But 
Pedobaptists,  we  are  inclined  to  believe,  feel  the 
real  point  of  our  protest  against  their  practice  much 


166   FROM  THE  STAGE  COACH  TO  THE 

oftener  than  they  are  ready  to  admit.  The  issue  is 
the  baptismal  question,  and  they  must  know  it,  if 
they  stop  to  think  a  moment.  They  are  not  confi 
dent  generally,  in  their  practice  of  sprinkling  and 
pouring  for  baptism.  Our  protest  against  this  dis 
turbs  them.  If  we  admitted  their  practice  as  Scrip 
tural  on  the  question  of  baptism,  they  wouldn't  care 
enough  about  our  communion  to  say  a  word  on  the 
subject.  —  ED.] 

Dr.    Hall    says    in    his    recent    book,    entitled, 
Questions  of  the 


1  Close  communion,'  that  is,  the  restriction  of  the  Lord's  table  to 
those  who  have  been  baptized  in  the  way  held  by  the  denomination, 
is  being  assailed  by  many  in  the  interests  of  catholicity.  Whether  the 
assailants  act  wisely  or  kindly  in  that  matter,  or  not,  is  an  open 
question.  It  is  a  course  of  doubtful  catholicity  to  raise  a  popular  cry 
against  a  most  valuable  body  of  people,  who  honestly  defend  and 
consistently  go  through  with,  what  they  deem  an  important  principle  ; 
and  more  particularly  when  they  have  some  little  internal  embarrass 
ment  on  the  subject.  Our  love  for  the  brethren  should  include,  surely, 
the  Baptist  brethren. 

*  Charity  suffereth  long  and  is  kind.'  And  it  is  doubtful  if,  consid 
ering  the  lengths  to  which  liberal  ideas  have  been  carried  in  the 
country,  there  be  not  some  gain  to  the  community  as  a  whole  from  a 
large  denomination  making  a  stand  at  a  particular  point,  and  reminding 
their  brethren  that  there  are  church  matters  which  we  are  not  bound, 
are  not  even  at  liberty  to  settle  according  to  the  popular  demand,  as 
we  should  settle  the  route  of  a  railroad. 

Equally  candid  and  unusual  are  the  remarks  of 
the  Interior,  of  Chicago,  one  of  the  ablest 
Presbyterian  papers  of  the  country  : 

We  ask  at  the  hands  of  our  sister  denominations  the  liberty  to 
execute  our  own  laws,  to  know  our  own  theology,  and  to  manage  our 


A    TRIAL    OF   OPEN    COMMUNION.  167 

affairs,  without  being  made  the  subjects  of  ungenerous  criticism.  And 
this  which  we  ask  for  ourselves,  we  very  freely  accord  to  others.  The 
difference  between  our  Baptist  brethren  and  ourselves  is  an  important 
difference.  We  agree  with  them,  however,  in  saying  that  unbaptized 
persons  should  not  partake  of  the  Lord's  Supper.  Their  views  compel 
them  to  believe  that  we  are  not  baptized,  and  shut  them  up  to  close 
communion.  Close  communion,  in  our  judgment,  is  a  more  defensible 
position  than  open  communion,  which  is  justified  on  the  ground  that 
baptism  is  not  pre-requisite  to  the  partaking  of  the  Lord's  Supper. 

To  chide  Baptists  with  bigotry  because  they  abide  by  the  logical 
consequences  of  their  system  is  absurd.  We  think  that  they  are  wrong 
hi  reference  to  the  mode  and  subjects  of  baptism,  and  should  not  hesi 
tate  to  take  ground  against  their  interpretation,  but  we  would  not  be 
silent  about  the  interpretation,  and  then  charge  them  with  bigotry  for 
a  consistent  adherence  to  their  interpretation. 


168       FROM   THE   STAGE   COACH   TO   THE   PULPIT. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

AN  OLD  SORE — SECOND  WIDOWHOOD. 

ON  opposite  sides  of  a  narrow  street  in  Bethany, 
lived  two  neighbors,  who  were  also  brethren  in 
the  Baptist  church.  They  were  also  wealthy,  one  of 
them  the  richest  man  in  the  church.  They  had  never 
lived  in  peace  with  each  other.  Their  chief  quarrel, 
which  became  chronic,  was  about  "line  fences,"  and 
where  the  water  should  flow,  that  the  Lord  sent  in 
showers  on  their  large  landed  estates.  And  then, 
on  all  the  matters  of  common  dealing,  and  they  are 
numerous  in  a  rural  neighborhood  as  was  ours,  there 
was  no  real  agreement.  But  the  influence  of  the 
almost  continued  revival  for  four  years,  had  kept  the 
thing  in  check,  so  that  no  serious  eruption  was  visible 
until  1839-40,  when  the  thing  assumed  such  an  aggra 
vated  form  that  "  catnip  tea  "  or  "  poppy-blow  leaves 
made  into  a  poultice,"  would  not  cure  or  even  ease 
the  pain.  (Both  the  patients  suffered  terribly.  So 
did  the  patience  of  those  who  had  anything  to  do 
with  them.)  The  whole  community  was  cognizant 


AN   OLD   SORE.  169 

of  the  unhappy  state  of  affairs  in  the  Baptist  church  : 
so  much  so  that  it  was  talked  of  in  all  circles.  Men 
of  the  world  would  throw  it  in  our  teeth  on  the 
street  and  in  public  places.  The  church  had  made 
a  number  of  efforts  to  conciliate  them,  and  in  some 
way  settle  their  difficulty  permanently.  But  all  in 
vain. 

A  medical  council  was  held.  Dr.  Discipline  and 
Dr.  Chairman  of  the  Committee  reported  the  case 
incurable,  and  the  moral  constitution  so  impaired 
that  amputation  had  become  necessary,  to  arrest  the 
spread  of  gangrene  through  the  whole  body.  Mr. 
Outside  said,  if  we  did  cut  off  these  excrescences, 
we  should  be  prosecuted  for  malpractice.  Mr. 
World  said,  we  cannot  take  them  into  our  infirmary 
without  bonds  well-secured  for  good  behavior.  That 
of  course  we  could  not  give,  knowing  the  cases  in 
hand. 

Thus  the  thing  stood  for  months,  and  we  were 
afraid  the  disease  would  become  a  contagion ;  and 
so  we  proposed  to  leave  the  situation  to  other 
parties,  if  something  was  not  done  speedily,  to  save 
the  body  by  prompt  surgical  operation.  So  a  day 
was  appointed,  and  the  doctors  and  the  nurses,  with 
their  bandages  and  lint  and  bottles  of  lotions  and 


170       FROM   THE    STAGE    COACH    TO   THE    PULPIT. 

all-healing  ointments,  came  together.  The  patients 
came,  and  the  operating  table  was  brought  out.  As 
Man-order-qf-the-day ',  I  tried  to  magnify  my  office 
and  not  give  offense  to  either  the  body  in  health  or 
the  affected  members.  The  doctors  had  decided  to 
operate  on  one  at  a  time,  meantime  giving  the  other 
an  opium  pill.  After  cutting  awhile  and  bandaging — 
the  dullness  of  the  instruments  having  much  to  do 
with  his  flouncing — the  amputation  was  safely 
effected;  and  the  night  coming  on,  the  other  case 
was  postponed  indefinitely. 

A  singular  sort  of  delirium  set  in,  during  which 
the  patient  made  me  the  sole  object  of  his  spleen, 
turning  away  altogether  from  the  one  with  whom  he 
had  had  such  frequent  and  unholy  conflicts.  The 
church  had  peace  as  a  consequence  of  this  necessary 
action ;  but  I  had  none.  Wealth  and  family  rela 
tions  did  all  that  could  be  done  to  make  my  situation 
uncomfortable,  and  to  hinder  my  usefulness. 

Here  it  might  be  remarked,  that  the  devil  is  more 
devilish  in  a  Baptist  church  than  anywhere  else. 
The  freedom  given  the  individual  in  this  Church 
fosters  both  the  growth  of  the  graces  in  true 
Christians,  and  develops  the  satanic  traits  in  the 
human  devils  who  creep  into  the  fold.  The  most 


AN   OLD   SORE.  171 

execrable  specimens,  most  filled  with  unadulterated, 
cunning  devilishness,  of  the  genus  Christian  that  we 
ever  met  with  or  heard  of  in  an  evangelical  church, 
we  have  "seen  and  handled"  in  a  Baptist  church. 
The  only  principle  on  which  you  can  account  for 
the  continued  presence  of  such  satanic  hirelings  in 
an  otherwise  good  and  peaceful  and  devoted  church, 
even  against  repeated  protests,  sometimes  formally 
made,  is  this  from  Holy  Writ,  that  "whom  the 
Lord  loveth  He  chasteneth." 

[No  Eoman  Inquisition  is  equal  in  diabolical  inge 
nuity  of  torture  to  these  "sons  of  Belial"  in  some  of 
their  practices,  especially  invented  for  the  destruc 
tion  of  the  peace  and  usefulness  of  pastor  and  church. 
Get  rid  of  such  characters,  if  they  own  half  the  king 
dom  ;  and  when  out  once,  keep  them  out. — ED.] 

It  is  said  that  trouble  never  comes  single-handed. 
Just  at  this  juncture,  when  this  man  was  trying  me 
with  all  the  arts  of  wicked  cunning,  my  dear  wife 
sickened  and  died  of  consumption,  leaving  me  the 
second  time  in  sad  widowhood.  We  had  been 
married  less  than  three  years.  My  children  were 
yet  small,  and,  in  addition  to  the  four  left  by  my 
first  wife,  my  second  wife  left  a  daughter  eleven 
months  old, 


172      FROM  THE   STAGE   COACH  TO   THE   PULPIT. 

In  1837,  I  was  married  to  Miss  Loretta  M., 
daughter  of  Dr.  Isaac  Olney.*  She  was  at  this  time 
a  teacher  in  a  select  school  at  Sodus,  Wayne 
county,  New  York. 

The  following  obituary  was  written  on  her  death  : 

DIED— On  the  22d  day  of  May,  1840,  at  Bethany,  Genesee  county, 
New  York,  Sister  LORETTA  M.  STIMSON,  wife  of  Elder  H.  K.  Stimson, 
in  the  28th  year  of  her  age. 

In  her  death,  Zion  has  lost  one  of  her  warmest  friends,  her  husband 
an  affectionate  wife,  and  her  children  a  careful  and  tender  mother. 
In  her  case,  there  was  a  most  striking  exemplification  of  the  power 
and  efficacy  of  Divine  grace,  in  causing  the  soul  to  triumph  in  the 
prospect  and  pangs  of  death.  It  may  truly  be  said  of  her,  that  in 
health  she  was  amiable  and  devout,  in  sickness  patient  and  submissive, 
and  in  death  peaceful  and  triumphant.  The  funeral  was  attended  by 
a  numerous  concourse  of  people,  all  of  whom  seemed  to  feel  that  in 
the  departure  of  the  deceased  they  had  sustained  a  great  loss. 

The  occasion  was  improved  by  Elder  I.  Clark,  D.  D.,  of  LeRoy,  in 
an  appropriate  and  impressive  discourse  from  Phil.  i.  21 :  "  For  to 
me  to  live  is  Christ,  but  to  die  is  gain."  • 

This  is  the  second  time  that  Brother  Stimson  has  been  thus  bereaved, 
and  he  is  now  left  with  five  small  children  and  other  dear  relatives  to 
mourn  the  loss. 

While  thus  sorely  and  repeatedly  afflicted,  we  would  bespeak  the 
prayers  and  sympathy  of  the  Christian  community  in  his  behalf. 


*  Dr.  Olney  was  a  graduate  of  the  medical  college  at  Fairfield,  New 
York.  In  the  war  of  1812  he  was  a  surgeon  in  the  United  States 
army,  under  the  command  of  Gen.  Brown,  and  stationed  at  Sackett's 
Harbor.  Soon  after  the  close  of  the  war,  he  moved  to  Parma,  New 
York,  and  commenced  the  practice  of  his  profession,  which  he  followed 
until  his  death,  which  occurred  in  1832,  leaving  his  family  of  six 
children,  five  daughters  and  one  son,  to  the  care  of  his  widow.  Dr. 
Olney  was  a  Christian  gentleman  and  highly  respected  by  all  who 
knew  him,  and  esteemed  as  a  physician  and  surgeon  of  great  skill. 
All  his  children  became  teachers. 


AN   OLD   SORE.  173 

Ah  I  dear  LORETTA,  whither  art  thou  gone? 

And  what  thy  state,  and  who  thy  partner  now? 
Ah  1  tell  me,  dost  thou  dwell  alone  ? 

Or  with  the  heavenly  myriads  bow? 

My  dearest  husband,  Heaven's  now  my  resting  place ; 

Joy  is  my  state  and  Christ  my  partner  here ; 
He  takes  me  in  His  near  embrace, 

And  makes  me  His  peculiar  care. 

O.  D.  TAYLOR. 

The  following  lines  were  composed  by  Mrs. 
LORETTA  STIMSON,  May  13th,  1840 : 

How  glorious  is  our  God, 

Who  sent  His  Son  to  die, 
That  we,  His  creatures,  full  of  sin, 

Might  reign  above  the  sky. 

He  sends  His  love  to  me, 

In  times  of  sorest  need 
He  will  His  good  bestow  on  thee, 

If  it  of  Him  thou  plead. 

In  the  autumn  of  1840,  by  the  advice  of  the 
ministers  and  others  of  our  Association,  I  devoted 
the  winter  to  labor  among  the  churches  in  holding 
meetings  with  the  pastors,  and  supplying  destitute 
churches  for  a  longer  or  shorter  time.  There  were 
great  revivals  at  Batavia,  Attica  and  West  Mid- 
dlebury. 


174   FROM  THE  STAGE  COACH  TO  THE  PULPIT. 


CHAPTER   XIII. 

EVANGELIZING. PASTORATE   AT   WARSAW. 

SAVING  resigned  my  pastorate  at  Bethany,  I 
accepted  a  call  from  the  church  at  Warsaw, 
Wyoming  County,  New  York,  and  in  April,  1841, 
began  my  pastoral  work  under  the  most  forbidding 
circumstances  I  had  ever  experienced  in  eleven 
years  as  a  pastor.  They  had  been  a  large  and 
efficient  body,  but  divisions  and  bad  management 
had  reduced  them  in  numbers  and  spirituality.  The 
singular,  unpardonable  whim  of  having  their  house 
of  worship  a  full  half  mile  from  where  it  ought  to 
be,  for  the  mere  sake  of  having  it  on  a  hill,  also 
operated  most  injuriously,  as  might  be  known  on 
general  principles.  What  with  distance  and  bad 
sidewalks,  the  congregations  were  of  course  small. 
Talnieige  or  Spurgeon  couldn't  have  made  them  very 
large.  The  house,  after  you  had  reached  it,  was  as 
uninviting  as  the  walk  was  unwelcome,  even  in  hot 
or  cold  weather.  Though  it  had  been  built  fourteen 


PASTORATE    AT   WARSAW.  175 

or  fifteen  years,  the  interior  of  it  had  never  been 
painted.  When  will  the  children  of  light  be  as  wise 
in  their  generation  as  the  children  of  this  world  ? 

.  The  church  had  enjoyed  the  ministrations  of  some 
of  the  best  talent  in  the  denomination :  Peter 
Freeman*,  Walling,  Joseph  Elliott,  Daniel  Barnard*, 
B.  Wilcox,  and  Abraham  Annis,  all  good  men  and 
true.  Two  or  three  of  my  predecessors  had  made 
efforts  to  move  the  meeting-house  into  the  village. 
But  they  always  ended  in  bad  feelings,  and  were  the 
cause  of  separation  between  pastors  and  people ; 
the  south  portion  of  the  church  contending  for  the 
old  situation  "on  the  hill  where  it  could  be  seen." 

With  this  state  of  things  existing,  I  entered  the 
field.  It  had  but  one  redeeming  feature,  so  far  as 
external  appearances  were  concerned,  viz  :  the  town 
had  become  the  county  seat  of  the  new  county 
of  Wyoming.  In  my  engagement  with  the  church, 
I  suggested  a  new  house  of  worship,  or  one  in  the 
village.  "I  am  not  going  to  talk  about  it,  but  when 
the  time  comes,  I  want  you  all  to  lift  until  you 
can  see  stars,  and  no  flinching." 

Things  soon  changed  "on  the  hill,"  and  in  the 
village.  We  had  secured  a  good  choir.  In  the 
village  we  had  organized  a  first-class  Sabbath  school, 


176      FROM   THE    STAGE    COACH   TO   THE   PULPIT. 

and  secured  a  good  room  in  which  to  hold  it  and 
evening  prayer  meetings.  And  things  went  on  that 
summer  with  a  good  degree  of  zeal  and  harmony. 
The  next  winter  we  had  a  pleasant  revival,  in  which 
the  church  was  strengthened  in  spirit,  and  an 
addition  of  twenty-eight  new  converts  made  to  the 
membership  ;  and  all  with  the  disadvantage  of  "  the 
old  house  on  the  hill  where  it  could  be  seen." 

In  the  course  of  this  year  we  had  learned  that  one 
man  stood  in  the  way  of  moving  the  house,  he  claim 
ing  a  moneyed  interest  in  it  to  the  amount  of  five 
hundred  dollars.  In  a  pleasant  conversation  I  had 
with  him,  I  got  his  consent  to  a  removal  of  the  house, 
but  when  the  time  came  for  him  to  sign  the  contract 
for  the  removal,  he  declined,  saying  that :  "there  was 
no  need  of  a  Baptist  church  in  town."  He  had  once 
been  a  member,  but  was  excluded  for  immoral  con 
duct.  In  the  majority  of  cases,  it  is  a  safe  rule  to 
have  but  little  to  do  with  excluded  members  of  Bap 
tist  churches.  They  are  not  to  be  trusted.-  They 
are  fit  for  "stratagems  and  spoils." 

A  subscription  was  started  the  very  hour  he 
declined,  nine  o'clock  A.  M.,  and  at  ten  o'clock  p.  M. 
we  had  on  it  two  thousand  eight  hundred  and 
twenty-five  dollars  for  a  new  church  edifice  in  the 


PASTORATE    AT   WARSAW.  177 

village,  and  in  less  than  one  year  the  house  was 
dedicated;  the  best  then  in  the  town.  And  the 
crowning  glory  of  all  was,  the  church  was  permitted 
to  enter  it  in  a  full  blaze  of  revival  work.  On  the 
first  Lord's  day  after  we  entered  our  new  house,  six 
were  baptized ;  the  next,  fifteen,  and  so  on  for  eleven 
Sabbaths  in  succession. 

But  no  sooner  than  it  became  quite  certain  that 
the  Baptists  were  going  to  have  a  house  in  the 
village,  than  a  different  manner  was  evinced  towards 
the  church  and  pastor.  We  were  all  right  when  up 
on  the  hill,  but  now  things  were  changed.  The 
sweet  treatment  of  the  pastor  by  the  other  ministers 
had  changed  to  "cold  shoulder,"  and  that  without 
"bread  or  mustard."  Our  sentiments  were  not 
orthodox,  as  we  did  not  believe  in  the  good  old  New 
England  practice  of  infant  church  membership,  and 
sprinkling  for  baptism.  That  was  a  change.  When 
we  were  up  "on  the  hill"  where  we  could  be  "seen" 
we  exchanged  pulpits  with  those  in  the  village,  but 
now  it  was  not  desirable  to  exchange  with  us.  The 
Baptists  had  but  a  small  congregation  when  they  were 
worshiping  on  the  lofty  "hill."  Now  they  had  a 
large  congregation,  and  as  large  a  Sabbath  school  as 
any  in  the  place,  and  composed  of  a  class  of  people 


178       FROM    THE    STAGE    COACH    TO    THE    PULPIT. 

as  "good  as  the  best  of  mankind."     All  that  was  a 
change. 

Then  there  were  many  who  had  met  with  a  change 
of  heart,  and  not  a  few  had  changed  their  views  in 
regard  to  baptism  and  had  been  immersed,  in  obedi 
ence  to  the  command  of  Jesus.  This  last  change 
was  the  provocation  of  a  wordy  war.  The  pulpits 
in  town  were  like  so  many  batteries  turned  upon  the 
Baptist  church,  for  changing  their  location  and 
coming  into  the  village.  As  though  they  had  a 
religious  pre-emption  right  to  the  territory  of  the 
town!  "Up  on  the  hill  where  they  could  be  seen" 
they  were  permitted  to  enjoy  uninterrupted  peace. 
Some  of  our  brethren  thought  we  ought  to  respond 
to  these  broadside  attacks  of  the  big  guns,  lest  it 
should  be  implied  that  we  were  a  little  cowardly. 
But  we  replied,  "No,  by  no  means  ;  God  has  more 
important  work  for  us,  and  we  ought  to  be  contented 
as  long  as  souls  are  being  converted  to  Christ  every 
day,  and  every  Lord's  day  we  are  going  to  the  stream 
to  baptize.  God  is  blessing  us  in  a  wonderful 
manner,  and  we  will  not  be  guilty  of  stopping  the 
work  by  engaging  in  controversy.  If  it  shall  ever 
seem  necessary  to  expose  their  false  and  unscrip- 
tural  attacks,  and  I  am  not  equal  to  the  emergency, 


PASTORATE   AT  WARSAW.  179 

the  church  will  be  at  liberty  to  dismiss  me,  and  get 
a  man  who  is  equal  to  the  task." 

This  quieted  the  disposition  to  reply  to  the 
attacks  made  upon  us,  and  the  work  continued 
under  the  reigning  power  of  the  Spirit  until  about 
June.  But  the  war  against  baptism  did  not  abate, 
for  a  lawyer*  in  the  place,  a  man  of  influence,  who 
had  been  educated  for  the  Episcopal  ministry,  had 
the  independence  to  ignore  his  infant  sprinkling  and 
former  connection  with  that  church,  and  had 
requested  baptism  as  a  believer  in  Christ  and  salva 
tion  by  faith.  The  church  had  received  him  as  a 
candidate  for  baptism,  and  had  requested  him  to 
give  his  reasons  for  this  change  in  his  views.  He 
consented,  and  the  next  Sunday  was  appointed  for 
his  doctrinal  experience,  and  baptism.  In  the 
morning,  he  occupied  the  pulpit  an  hour  and  a  half 
with  a  clear  and  searching  history  of  sprinkling  as  a 
substitute  for  the  ordinance  of  immersion,  and  his 
reasons  for  change  of  belief  and  church  membership. 
It  was  a  complete  vindication  of  the  Baptist 
practice. 

Soon  after  this,  I  was  informed  that  one  of  the 
ministers  of  the  place  had  an  appointment  on  a 

*  Hon.  J.  E.  Doolittle,  now  Tresitleiit  of  Chicago  University. 


180   FROM  THE  STAGE  COACH  TO  THE  PULPIT. 

week  day  to  preach  at  East  Orangeville  on  the 
subject  of  baptism ;  and  a  convert  invited  me  to 
attend  and  listen  to  an  expose  of  the  Baptist  fallacy 
of  immersion.  He  had  been  induced  to  join  the 
Methodist  class,  and  had  been  sprinkled  by  this 
Rev.  Mr.  Judd,  with  the  assurance  that  it  was 
Scriptural  baptism,  and  he  would  prove  it  to  him 
at  this  Thursday's  meeting  at  East  Orangeville.  I 
consented  to  attend. 

It  so  happened  that  I  went  into  the  house  in  time 
of  prayer  and  was  unobserved,  taking  a  seat  in  the 
back  part  of  the  room,  and  the  reverend  gentleman 
being  near-sighted,  did  not  discover  that  I  was 
among  his  hearers.  So  he  commenced  his  tirade 
of  misrepresentation  of  the  Baptists,  with  a  plentiful 
quantity  of  abuse  heaped  on  Elder  H.  K.  Stimson. 
He  tried  to  be  sarcastic,  but  his  points  were  too 
clumsily  made  and  too  stale  to  have  any  power.  I 
sat  quiet  and  took  notes.  (I  have  them  yet.)  He 
held  the  congregation  an  hour-and-a-half  (not 
spell-bound,  but  by  the  "button").  At  the  close 
of  this  "sermon,"  he  called  upon  a  brother  H.  M.  to 
pray.  Now,  this  brother  was  a  Methodist  exhorter 
and  a  warm  friend  of  mine.  He  knew  I  was  present, 
and  made  special  mention  of  me  in  a  prayer,  saying 


PASTORATE    AT   WARSAW.  181 

he  "  blessed  God  that  Brother  Stimson  had  been  sent 
into  that  valley,  and  had  been  so  successful  in  winning 
souls  to  Christ." 

All  this  time,  Rev.  Mr.  Judd  was  peeking  about 
the  house  to  see  where  I  was.  He  then  called  upon 
the  congregation  to  sing  : 

"  A  charge  to  keep  I  have." 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  song,  I  arose  from  my 
corner  and  said  to  Mr.  Judd,  "Can  I  give  out  an 
appointment?"  To  which  he  replied,  "Certainly." 
I  then  gave  notice  that  the  next  Lord's  day,  at  one 
o'clock  P.  M.,  I  would  discuss  the  following  propo 
sitions  : 

1st.  That  infant  church  membership,  with 
sprinkling  for  the  ordinance  of  baptism,  was  a 
tradition  of  man  and  without  Scripture  proof. 

2d.  That  the  "Methodist  Episcopal  Church"  was 
a  human  institution  and  without  Divine  authority. 

3d.  That  believers  are  the  only  proper  subjects 
of  baptism,  and  immersion  the  only  valid  act. 

4th.    That  Mr.  Judd  had  told  six  lies. 

If  you  have   ever  seen  a  hornet's  nest  disturbed 

.by  throwing  stones  at  it,  you  can  have  some  correct 

idea  of  the  situation  within  those  four  walls.     One 


182      FROM  THE    STAGE   COACH  TO  THE   PULPIT. 

good  large  sister  approached  me,  saying :  "Well, 
I  think  you  are  a  pretty  man  to  come  here  and 
charge  our  minister  with  lying."  To  which  I 
calmly  replied  :  "  Then,  my  good  sister,  you  should 
have  a  minister  that  won't  lie  about  his  neighbors 
and  brethren."  I  also  invited  all  to  attend  and 
bring  their  Bibles  with  them.  I  returned  home  and 
set  to  work  preparing  for  our  next  Sunday's 
meeting. 

The  excitement  all  over  the  country  spread  like 
the  fire  in  the  Philistines'  corn,  with  Samson's  foxes 
on  the  full  run.  I  had  made  such  preparation  as 
the  short  time  would  afford.  At  one  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon  of  the  Sabbath,  not  only  the  house,  but 
the  streets  and  vacant  places  about  the  house,  were 
alive  with  human  beings.  As  I  went  in,  I  found  in 
the  doorway  five  clergymen :  three  Methodists,  one 
Presbyterian  and  one  Congregationalist.  I  found 
that  they  had  no  seats,  so  I  arranged  to  accommo 
date  them  with  comfortable  places.  I  also  took  in, 
with  help,  a  two-bushel  basket  full  of  books,  many 
of  them  I  had  sent  miles  to  obtain  for  this  occasion. 
The  ministers  looked  a  little  wild  at  the  books. 

After  the  opening  song,  I  called  on  one  of  them 
(not  Judd)  to  pray.  I  then  made  the  following 


PASTORATE    AT    WARSAW.  183 

statement :  "If  in  this  discussion  to-day  I  make 
any  misrepresentation,  or  false  quotation  of  the 
Pedobaptist  authors,  or  misstatements  of  any  min 
ister's  words,  I  shall  be  obliged  to  any  clergyman  or 
other  gentleman  to  call  my  attention  to  my  mistake, 
and  I  will  stand  corrected,  if  found  in  an  error."  I 
stated  the  why  of  my  appearing  in  a  discussion. 
I  had  called  upon  a  friend  to  read  from  the  authors 
the  quotations  that  I  might  make. 

We  will  not  detain  the  reader  to  rehearse  the 
arguments  by  which  we  sustained  our  first  three 
propositions.  Suffice  it  to  say,  we  were  not  called 
to  order  by  any  one  present,  and  so  we  concluded 
we  did  not  misrepresent  their  position  or  misquote 
their  authors.  We  came  to  the  fourth  proposition, 
and  sustained  it  to  the  satisfaction  of  every  candid 
hearer;  and  "Brother"  Judd,  then  and  there, 
"swallowed"  three  out  of  the  six  falsehoods  he  had 
told  in  the  pulpit.  The  only  apology  he  oflered 
was,  he  "was  told  so." 

We  occupied  three  hours  and  fifteen  minutes  in 
this  talk,  without  intermission.  And  thus  ended 
this  "bloodless,  wordy  and  watery  war."  About  the 
only  reference,  to  the  subject  afterwards,  was  made 
the  next  year  by  Mr.  Judd's  successor,  and  by  the 


184      FROM   THE    STAGE    COACH   TO   THE    PULPIT. 

way,  a  very  clever  Christian  gentleman,  and  on  this 
wise  :  My  garden  lay  beside  the  walk  on  the  main 
street.  This  brother  and  his  wife  came  walking 
along  one  evening,  just  as  I  was  watering  my 
cabbages  with  a  common  watering  pot.  "Ah  !"  says 
he,  "then  you  do  believe  in  sprinkling,  I  see,  Brother 
Stimson?"  "Oh,  yes,"  I  replied;  "for  cabbage- 
heads — it  may  do  them  good."  He  and  his  good 
wife  laughed  and  walked  on. 

During  the  following  winter,  the  community  was 
a  good  deal  exercised  upon  the  subject  of  "Miller- 
ism,"  or  the  speedy  coming  of  Christ  (time  set  to  a 
minute),  and  the  destruction  of  the  world  and- the 
wicked.  Two  prominent  lecturers  came  into  the 
place,  Rev.  Mr.  Beach  and  Rev.  Elon  Galusha. 
The  public  attention  was  taxed  with  this  exciting 
subject,  until  nothing  else  could  gain  the  popular 
mind.  So,  I  only  sat  as  a  looker-on,  occasionally 
witnessing  a  demonstration  of  the  subject  on  charts. 
We  thought  then,  and  think  now,  that  we  had  no 
objections  to  the  Lord's  coming ;  but  we  did  not  see 
that  their  figuring  was  exact  authority,  according  to 
"Dayball's."  We  had  always  heard  that  "figures 
would  not  lie,"  and  our  confidence  in  their  veracity, 
up  to  that  time,  was  unbounded;  but  we  thought 


PASTOKATE    AT   WARSAW.  185 

then  we  saw  them  tying — at  least,  the  only  excuse 
we  can  discover  for  the  behavior  of  the  figures  in 
this  particular  case  is,  that  they  were  very  unfor 
tunate  in  being  thrown  together  with  such  guess 
work,  by  which  even  a  cypher  would  change  the 
whole  tenor  of  Revelation  on  the  subject.  To  say 
the  least,  the  "exact  mathematics,"  as  applied  to  the 
doctrine  of  the  "second  advent,"  after  a  continuous 
effort  for  a  generation,  and  the  most  repeated  and 
signal  failures,  better  withdraw  from  the  field. 
Before  the  time  for  the  event  is  fixed  again,  we 
suggest  to  those  having  the  matter  in  charge  to  fix 
upon  a  "standard  of  time ;"  and  then  apply  their 
mathematics  to  the  calculation  of  the  variation  for 
different  localities,  owing  to  the  difference  of 
latitude  and  longitude.  The  devil  must  fear  this 
doctrine,  or  he  wouldn't  have  set  such  "minute- 
men"  to  preaching  it,  and  so  brought  it  into  such 
deserved  contempt.  The  Bible  just  as  plainly 
teaches  that  Christ  is  coming  the  second  time, 
bodily  and  personally  and  visibly,  as  that  He  came 
and  was  crucified,  "dead  and  buried,"  and  rose 
again  and  ascended  up  on  high.  If  He  ever  came 
once,  He  is  coming  again.  But  He  as  expressly 
says  that  no  man  knoweth  when,  "no,  not  the  angels 
of  Heaven,  but  my  Father  only."  To  what  order 


FROM    THE    STAGE    COACH    TO    THE    PULPIT. 

of  beings  do  these  mathematical,  "second-advents" 
belong  ? 

But  no  harm  came  of  it  to  our  church.  Not  a 
single  member  went  off  with  it,  and  not  a  soul  was 
converted  to  Christ  in  all  these  efforts.  As  soon  as 
the  excitement  had  subsided,  I  called  the  attention 
of  my  people  to  the  fact  that  sinners  were  dying  all 
around  us,  and  that  whether  Christ  came  at  once,  or 
a  great  while  in  the  future,  they  must  be  saved  by 
Him,  or  lost  forever.  God  revived  us  again,  and 
that  spring  I  baptized  a  goodly  number  of  youth — 
some  of  them  exceedingly  interesting  cases — and 
the  church  was  replenished  with  the  Spirit's  influence 
"to  the  edification  of  itself  in  love." 

The  year  1844  witnessed  the  great  Presidential 
campaign  contest  between  Clay  and  Polk,  and  little 
could  be  done  for  religion,  except  simply  to  maintain 
the  ground.  The  church  and  congregation  had 
become  deeply  imbedded  in  my  heart.  Many  of  the 
church  had  been  received  by  myself  through  the 
significant  ordinance  of  initiation  into  the  household 
of  God,  instituted  and  submitted  to  by  Christ.  But 
"God's  ways  are  not  as  our  ways,  nor  His  thoughts 
as  our  thoughts." 

At  the  close  of  my  vacation,  which  I  had 
employed  in  traveling  through  the  country  in  that 


PASTORATE    AT   WARSAW.  187 

part  of  the  State,  on  returning  home,  the  brother 
who  had  "supplied"  for  me  intimated  that  he  would 
like  my  position,  saying  that  "a  number  of  the 
brethren  had  suggested  that  a  change  of  pastor  was 
desirable ;  that  I  had  been  there  quite  a  while,  and 
might  be  more  useful  somewhere  else." 

I  said,  "Very  well,  I  will  accommodate  them." 
The  next  week  was  Covenant  meeting.  I  wrote  out 
my  resignation,  and  at  the  meeting  handed  it  to  the 
clerk,  with  the  request  for  him  to  read  it  at  the 
close,  for  special  action  of  the  church  at  that 
meeting.  He  complied.  There  was  some  agitation 
in  consequence.  "Why,  what  can  it  mean?"  One 
of  the  deacons  moved  to  lay  it  on  the  table,  to 
which,  of  course,  I  objected  ;  but  all  in  vain.  On  to 
the  table  it  went  without  a  negative.  The  truth 
is,  one  man  was  a  little  excited  on  account  of  my 
"abolition"  proclivities.  For  I  was  what  they  called 
a  "hair-brained,  fanatical,  one-idea  abolitionist." 

He  had  fooled  the  poor,  dear,  little  minister  into 
the  belief  that  he  could  get  the  place,  if  I  was  only 
out  of  it.  I  was  willing,  if  the  church  so  wished. 
But  they  were  so  incensed  they  would  not  hear 
him  again.  Six  weeks  after,  at  a  special  meeting, 
my  resignation  was  accepted,  and  I  out  on  the  open 
road  to  seek  a  new  field. 


188      FROM    THE    STAGE    COACH   TO   THE    PULPIT. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

S 

WHEATLAND. 

)r\HE  church  in  Wheatland,  hearing  that  I  had 
-*-  resigned  at  Warsaw,  invited  me  to  visit  them 
at  my  earliest  convenience.  This  invitation  I 
accepted,  and  was  settled  as  their  pastor  in  January, 
1845.  In  leaving  Warsaw  as  I  did,  I  was  liable  to 
the  charge  of  undue  haste — a  charge  that  might 
frequently  be  set  to  my  account.  I  have  been 
addicted  to  hasty  action,  more  or  less,  all  through 
my  life.  In  some  instances,  doubtless,  great  harm- 
came  to  churches  in  consequence  of  my  haste  in 
leaving  them.  If  I  had  not  stayed  with  them  any 
longer  to  speak  of,  but  had  given  them  a  little  more 
warning  in  case  of  my  leaving,  some  injury, 
doubtless,  might  have  been  prevented. 

But,  on  the  other  hand,  some  of  the  best  moves 
I  ever  made,  I  think,  were  impromptu — and  this 
move  to  Wheatland  was  certainly  one  of  them.  I 
never  had  any  regrets  in  the  case,  as  I  had  in  leaving 
Alabama.  As  soon  as  my  family  were  comfortably 


WHEATLAND.  189 

settled,  I  began  exploring  my  field.  The  church 
then  covered  a  large  extent  of  country,  parts  of  four 
"towns,"  besides  all  of  Wheatland,  with  small 
villages,  Scottsville,  Mumford,  Churchville  and 
Clifton.  In  each  of  these,  I  had  an  appointment 
regularly.  The  church  was  mostly  composed  of 
farmers,  men  of  integrity,  intelligence  and  wealth, 
and  a  large  circle  of  youth  who  had  been  brought 
up  to  revere  religion  and  attend  the  services  of  the 
church.  A  number  of  them  were  already  members, 
and  examples  of  Christian  deportment. 

All  these  facts  impressed  me  with  the  belief  that, 
with  God's  blessing  on  the  joint  labors  of  pastor 
and  people,  a  work  could  be  accomplished  to  the 
honor  of  the  Gospel  and  the  enlargement  of  Zion. 
There  was  one  thing  only  that  acted  as  a  hindrance 
to  immediate  advancement.  The  church  edifice  was 
one  of  the  first  built  west  of  the  Genesee  river,  and 
time  had  made  its  marks  upon  it ;  and  its  architec 
tural  construction  was  not  in  keeping  with  modern 
ideas.  To  many  of  the  members,  as  well  as  to  the 
society,  it  was  distasteful — high,  deep  galleries ; 
seats  with  high,  straight  backs,  with  a  sharp  rib 
called  a  railing,  and  a  lofty  pulpit,  with  a  long 
stairway  coming  up  both  sides  into  a  little  box  with 


190   FKOM  THE  STAGE  COACH  TO  THE  PULPIT. 

a  board  seat,  the  whole  as  large  as  a  common  bureau 
when  the  doors  were  shut.  Two  common-sized 
ministers  would  fill  it  full. 

The  church  was  organized  in  1811,  and  had  been 
under  the  pastoral  instruction  of  some  of  the  ablest 
men  in  the  denomination.  Elder  Solomon  Brown, 
the  first  pastor,  died  in  1813.  E.  Stone  was  with 
them  four  years.  Aristarchus  Willey,  Horace 
Griswell,  John  Middleton,  Daniel  Elbriclge,  Gibbon 
Williams,  who  was  my  immediate  predecessor, 
completed  the  list  of  their  pastors — choice  men  and 
gifted,  and  some  of  them  highly  educated. 

One  fact  is  wrorthy  of  notice.  This  church  had  a 
practical  system  of  management  by  which  they 
conducted  all  their  finances.  They  were  never 
perplexed  with  any  old,  long  arrearage.  Their 
church  book  was  as  complete  as  any  business  man's 
ledger.  At  the  end  of  each  year  they  knew  to  a 
cent  what  they  had  paid  out,  not  only  for  home 
expenses,  but  to  the  different  benevolent  objects  of 
the  day.  It  was  under  the  supervision  of  the 
deacons  of  the  church.  All  moneys  passed  through 
their  hands.  I  was  surprised,  at  the  close  of  my 
first  year,  when  the  deacons  called  to  settle  with 
me,  to  find  that  every  cent  paid  to  me  was  on  their 


WHEATLAND.  191 

book,  and  the  exact  amount  due,  which  was  two 
hundred  and  sixty-three  dollars  and  twenty-seven 
cents,  was  on  hand  with  which  to  pay  me.  A  thing 
that  had  never  happened  to  me  before  in  fifteen  years 
of  ministerial  life. 

Everything  was  done  by  equality.  One  was  not 
eased  and  another  burdened,  as  in  too  many  of  our 
churches.  The  two  acting  deacons  worked  together 
in  perfect  harmony.  Deacon  Jirah  Blackmer  was 
church  clerk,  and  had  been  from  the  beginning, 
more  than  thirty-five  years.  Deacon  Charles 
Tenney  was  collector,  always  heading  the  list  in 
every  good  work.  The  senior  deacon,  Eawsom 
Harmon,  had  become  aged  and  had  retired  from 
active  responsibilities.  He  was  a  man  of  great 
natural  force  of  character.  His  bugle-voice  was 
yet  heard  in  prayer  and  exhortation.  A  few,  that 
spring,  were  converted  and  added  to  the  church. 

In  June,  after  a  long  consultation  and  mutual 
agreement,  we  entered  into  a  remodeling  of  the 
church-house,  at  an  expense  of  seventeen  hundred 
dollars.  The  contract  was  let.  The  work  was 
nearly  completed,  and  we  were  in  anticipation  of 
entering  the  house  in  a  few  days,  when,  one  morning 
about  three  o'clock,  while  all  in  the  neighborhood 


192      FROM    THE    STAGE    COACH    TO   THE    PULPIT. 

were  sleeping,  the  cry  of  "Fire!  fire!"  was 
heard ;  and  lo  !  our  new  place  or  worship  was  all 
in  flames,  and  before  daylight,  all  in  ashes.  The 
evening  of  that  day  had  been  appointed  for  a 
donation  visit  at  the  parsonage.  It  was  a  sad 
gathering  of  all  the  church  and  society.  In  spite 
of  the  depressing  circumstance,  they  brought 
generous  offerings  to  their  pastor,  amounting  in  all 
to  one  hundred  and  ninety  dollars? 

At  this  donation  visit,  a  society  and  church 
meeting  was  arranged  for  the  next  evening,  to  take 
measures  for  rebuilding.  There  was  perfect  unity. 
Their  motto  was,  "The  God  of  Heaven,  He  will 
help  us ;  therefore,  we  His  servants  will  arise  and 
build."  The  next  Lord's  day,  I  preached  from 
Isaiah  Ixiv.  11  :  "Our  holy  and  our  beautiful  house, 
where  our  fathers  praised  Thee,  is  burned  up  with 
fire,  and  all  our  pleasant  things  are  laid  waste." 
The  money  was  soon  raised  to  construct  and 
complete  a  new  house. 

This  year  we  were  quite  disconcerted  in  our 
Sunday  school  and  congregational  meetings,  for  a 
convenient  place  in  which  to  meet.  But  God  was 
in  it  all,  disciplining  the  church  for  greater  work 
yet  to  come.  The  eighteenth  of  the  next  November 


WHEATLAND.  193 

the  new  house  was  entered,  the  Rev.  Whitman 
Metcalf,  of  Brockport,  preaching  the  sermon.  In 
the  evening,  the  Rev.  N.  Murdock,  D.  D.,  of 
Albion,  preached.  There  were  already  manifes 
tations  of  the  Divine  presence,  as  the  church  held 
days  of  fasting  and  prayer  prior  to  the  opening  of 
the  new  edifice  ;  and  yet  there  were  no  conversions. 

That  winter,  I  was  engaged,  with  others,  in  the 
Monroe  Association,  to  raise  a  large  amount  to  help 
meet  the  deficit  of  forty-three  thousand  dollars  in  the 
treasury  of  the  A.  B.  M.  Union.  We  had  three 
meetings — one  in  Rochester,  one  in  Wheatland  and 
one  in  Mendon.  Rev.  Alfred  Bennett  was  invited  to 
be  present  and  preach  at  the  meeting  in  our  church. 
After  the  sermon  a  collection  was  taken  up, 
amounting  to  five  hundred  and  sixty-six  dollars. 
I  felt  relieved ;  and  I  believe  the  work  of  replen 
ishing  the  treasury  that  year  was  finally  accomplished. 

The  tenth  day  of  March  following,  light  from 
above  broke  in  upon  us.  Sinners  became  alarmed, 
and  the  cry  was  heard,  "What  must  we  do?"  Men 
and  women  of  age  and  standing,  youth  and  children, 
were  seen  flocking  to  Zion's  gates,  "as  clouds  and 
doves  to  windows."  Our  meetings  continued  day 
and  evening  from  the  tenth  of  March  to  July.  For 


194      FROM    THE    STAGE    COACH    TO    THE    PULPIT. 

thirteen  Sabbaths  we  visited  the  pools  of  Zion  to 
baptize  rejoicing  converts  to  Jesus,  their  new-found 
King.  The  Spirit  of  reclamation  went  over  the 
land  like  sunlight  and  shower  in  May.  Old  hopes 
were  renewed  in  the  Spirit,  and  persons  who  had 
grown  gray  in  neglect  of  God  and  salvation  had 
now  a  family  altar.  Young  men  would  call  me  up 
at  midnight,  to  pray  for  them  and  direct  them  what 
to  do.  There  was  not  a  dog  to  move  his  tongue, 
except  one.  The  Kev.  Mr.  Ashman,  of  Riga, 
pastor  of  the  Congregational  church,  became  quite 
incensed  because  a  number  of  his  people  had  called 
for  letters,  in  order  to  be  baptized  and  join  our 
church.  He  said,  on  one  occasion,  that  "Nobody 
but  the  rabble  would  go  to  see  these  Sabbath- 
breaking  immersicns  ;  and  I  feel  it  to  be  a  grievous 
wrong  to  grant  letters  to  any  member  of  our  church 
to  join  a  church  that  will  not  admit  us  to  the  Lord's 
table."  This  so  offended  the  better  portion  of  his 
church  that  he  was  summarily  dismissed.  He  went 
back  to  New  England  to  get  refreshed.  In  the 
course  of  the  work  we  received  fifteen  from  the 
Pedobaptists  ;  and  I  could  not  feel  myself  to  blame. 
Thus  the  year  1847  closed,  with  the  church 
greatly  enlarged  in  spirit  and  in  numbers,  having 


WHEATLAND.  195 

doubled  its  membership  and  also  its  ability.  It  was 
their  custom  to  increase  in  ability  in  proportion  to 
numerical  increase  ;  if  not  in  giving  ability,  in  doing 
ability.  A  donation  visit  was  made  to  the  parsonage 
every  winter  by  members  of  the  church  and  congre 
gation.  The  time  for  it  had  come  and  the  day  was 
set.  The  invitations  had  been  sent  out.  The  usual 
order  was  for  the  older  folks  to  come  in  the  afternoon, 
and  the  younger  to  come  in  the  evening.  But,  on 
this  occasion,  it  seems  it  was  a  concerted  plan 
among  the  younger  people  to  come  in  the  day  also, 
and  then  make  the  older  people  stay  in  the  evening ; 
and  it  worked  like  a  charm.  Each  district  in  the 
parish  tried  to  outdo  the  others.  On  one  four-horse 
load  of  hay  that  drove  up,  were,  besides  ten  or 
twelve  men  and  women,  the  following  articles,  good 
to  read  over :  four  barrels  of  apples,  two  barrels  of 
flour,  ten  bushels  of  oats,  fifty  pounds  of  dried 
meat  and  butter,  in  addition  to  turkeys,  chickens, 
cakes  and  pies  by  the  dozen.  It  is  needless  to 
mention  that  it  took  four  horses  to  draw  this  load. 
It  came  from  "Palmer  street."  One  woman  threw 
up  her  hands  as  it  approached,  saying:  "There 
comes  all  Palmer  street,  and  it  has  outdone  us  all." 
Our  donation  receipts  footed  up  on  this  occasion  to 


196      FROM    THE    STAGE    COACH   TO    THE    PULPIT. 

the  considerable  sum  of  two  hundred  and  sixty-five 
dollars.  Donation  visits  are  not  very  bad  things  to 
receive  occasionally. 

The  next  spring  I  held  a  meeting  of  days  in 
an  out-station  called  "Harman's  Burgh,"  now 
Clifton.  The  Rev.  J.  B.  Olcott  and  the  Rev.  H. 
Daniels  came  to  our  assistance,  and  rendered  most 
valuable  service.  In  that  neighborhood,  twenty- 
eight  were  added  to  the  company  of  the  disciples  in 
that  village. 

This  year  I  attended  commencement  at  Hamilton. 
I  had  attended  before  when  it  was  a  simple  seminary  ; 
but  now  it  had  become  a  "University."  This  was 
the  first  occasion  on  which  they  had  ever  conferred 
honorary  degrees,  a  ceremony  I  had  never  witnessed. 
The  first  man  to  receive  this  was  our  warm  friend, 
Rev.  Pharcellus  Church,  then  pastor  of  the  First 
church  in  Rochester.  The  duties  of  conferring  the 
weighty  aflair  devolved  upon  Dr.  A.  C.  Keudrick, 
then  one  of  the  Hamilton  faculty.  I  supposed  he 
would  converse  about  the  matter  in  English ;  but 
when  he  began,  I  soon  saw  it  was  all  "ash  dod"  to 
me.  (I  was  told  that  he  chose  to  converse  in 
Latin.)  As  soon  as  all  was  over,  I  started  off  in 
the  stage  for  home.  Arriving  in  Rochester  before 


WHEATLAND.  19? 

daylight,  I  proceeded  at  once  to  Church's  residence, 
and  rung  the  bell.  He  came  to  the  door  in  his 
night  dress,  and  asked,  "Who's  there?"  "It's  me," 
I  replied.  He  opened  the  door,  and  I  caught  him 
by  the  hand,  muttering,  "  Juck,  dio  postate  pulanto 
dignite,  fortunate  vis  to  dogme  ito  Pharcellum 
Churchum."  "Why,  Stimsou,  what  is  the  matter 

with  you?     Are  you  crazy,  or  are  you  dr ?"  a 

condition  I  had  not  been  in  for  twenty  years  and 
more.  I  replied,  "I  have  made  you  a  doctor  of 
divinity  "  The  daily  paper  was  just  ready  to  go  to 
press,  and  I  slipped  down  to  the  Democrat  office  and 
had  the  fact  inserted  in  the  news  column.  When  he 
saw  it  in  print,  he  regarded  it  as  official. 

The  Monroe  Association  was  one  of  the  most 
efficient  religious  bodies  in  the  western  part  of  New 
York.  It  was  composed  of  a  class  of  ministers 
godly  and  efficient — Rev.  P.  Church,  of  the  First 
church,  Rochester;  Rev.  H.  Davis,  Second  church, 
Rochester;  Rev.  Z.  Case,  Ogden ;  Rev.  Jonas 
Woodward,  Webster ;  Rev.  A.  C.  Kingsley,  Parma ; 
Rev.  Martain  Coleman,  Bergen ;  Rev.  Whitman 
Medcalf,  Brockport;  Rev.  J.  B.  Olcott,  Grece ; 
Rev.  A.  Annis,  East  Mendon;  Rev.  H.  Stanwood, 
Rush.  A  number  of  the  above  are  still  living, 


198       FROM   THE   STAGE   COACH   TO   THE   PULPIT. 

some  at  an  advanced   age,  while   others  still  have 
"gone  up  higher." 

About  this  time  some  dissatisfaction  began  to  be 
manifest  about  the  management  of  our  educational 
matters  at  Hamilton.  Friends  in  the  East  and  West 
were  beginning  to  make  an  effort  for  its  removal  to 
Rochester.  In  all  good  faith  I  joined  in  the  general 
movement,  and  spent  much  of  my  time  and  exerted 
all  my  influence  to  secure  that  end.  Bad  blood  was 
stirred  up  on  both  sides,  and  many  things  said  and 
done  that  we  have  repented  of.  I  hope  God  has 
forgiven  all  concerned.  I  think  He  has  one  poor 
sinner  at  least.  I  went  into  it  as  I  go  into  every 
thing  else  :  to  conquer.  The  result  has  been  greatly 
favorable  to  the  denomination  at  large.  Rochester 
University  is  a  verity  and  a  power,  with  a  theological 
seminary  that  no  denomination  need  be  ashamed  of; 
and  Hamilton  in  all  its  departments  is  a  better 
institution  than  it  would  have  been,  had  it  not  been 
stirred  up  with  the  "long  pole"  of  rivalry.  It  is 
my  constant  prayer — God  fill  our  land  with  educated 
ministers.  I  value  education  as  a  poor  man  does 
money  :  I  feel  the  want  of  it.  I  sincerely  pity  any 
young  man  who  attempts  to  preach  the  sublime 
truths  of  the  Gospel  of  Jesus  without  at  least  a 


WHEATLAND.  199 

common  English  education.  He  ought  to  have,  in 
this  day  of  advance  in  all  the  sciences,  a  complete 
course  in  the  best  schools  of  the  land. 

When  I  look  back  over  forty  years  of  work,  and 
reflect  what  I  have  gone  through  by  way  of  self- 
mortification,  and  then  how  I  have  shamed  the  dear 
Church  of  God  by  my  bad  pronunciation  and  worse 
grammar,  I  have  said,  "If  I  were  to  spend  my  life 
over  again,  I  would  give  at  least  five  years  of  that 
time,  no  matter  how  old  I  might  be  to  begin  with, 
to  securing  the  best  preparation  for  my  work  within 
my  reach."  I  think  the  council  that  ordained  me 
would  have  done  a  far  better  thing  in  resolving 
themselves  into  an  educational  conference,  and  then 
called  on  the  church,  or  churches,  to  have  sustained 
my  family  and  let  me  go  to  school ;  or  set  me  at 
work  at  my  trade  to  secure  the  means  to  support 
them,  and  then  started  me  on  my  course  of  study. 

I  saw  my  need  of  education  the  first  time  I  ever 
went  into  a  pulpit  to  preach.  While  I  lived  in 
Rush,  and  had  only  just  begun  to  talk  in  neigh 
borhood  gatherings,  the  pastor  at  Penfield  wished  to 
be  absent  a  Sabbath,  and  sent  for  me  to  supply  his 
place.  I  foolishly  consented.  Penfield  was  one  of 
the  most  intelligent  congregations  in  the  Monroe 


200      FROM   THE   STAGE   COACH   TO   THE   PULPIT. 

Association.  So  Sunday  morning  I  took  my  horse 
and  drove  over  fourteen  miles ;  got  there  just  in 
time  for  the  morning  service.  The  brethren  met 
me  kindly,  as  they  all  knew  me,  and  some  had 
known  me  before  my  conversion.  I  went  \ip  into 
the  pulpit  as  I  imagine  a  man  would  ascend  the 
gallows,  and  took  my  text  in  Psalms  xxxiii.  4  :  "For 
the  Word  of  the  Lord  is  right ;  and  all  His  works 
are  done  in  truth."  I  had  given  the  subject  some 
little  thought,  in  my  way  of  thinking,  and  got 
through  better  than  I  expected  to  when  I  began. 
So  the  devil  suggested,  "Hiram,  you  can  beat  that." 
So  in  the  afternoon  I  took  my  text  from  Hosea  x.  12  : 
"Sow  to  yourselves  in  righteousness,  reap  in  mercy.'1 
I  had  not  proceeded  far,  when  I  used  a  common 
word  among  stage  drivers  to  express  nothing,  so  I 
said,  "You  can't  get  a  hooter  out  of  them."  There 
was  a  Dr.  C.  in  the  congregation,  who  was  looking 
me  full  in  the  face  with  interest,  and  I  have  no  doubt 
now,  with  anxiety.  As  the  word  hooter  came  out, 
he  buried  his  face  in  his  handkerchief,  and  laughed 
till  he  shook  all  over.  I  stopped,  ashamed  and 
confounded,  and  holding  up  my  hands,  said,  "Be 
dismissed,"  and  pronounced  the  benediction.  I  went 
straight  to  the  barn,  got  out  my  horse  and  started 
for  Rush. 


WHEATLAND.  201 

Fourteen  years  afterwards,  when  I  was  pastor  at 
Warsaw  and  Rev.  Daniel  Barnard  was  pastor  at 
Penfield,  he  proposed  an  exchange.  I  arrived  at 
Penfield  on  Saturday,  and  called  on  Joseph  Case, 
with  whom  I  was  to  lodge.  While  he  was  in  the 

o 

barn,  taking  care  of  my  horse,  the  deacon  said : 
"Well,  Brother  Stimson,  I  am  glad  to  see  you.  I 
hear  good  things  about  you.  They  say  you  have 
got  to  be  quite  a  preacher,  and  are  doing  a  wonderful 
sight  of  good.  I  suppose  you  won't  say  "hooter" 
to-morrow,  will  you?"  I  was  half  a  mind  to 
hitch  up  my  horse  and  go  straight  home.  The 
"hooter"  was  still  after  me.  Fourteen  years  had 
not  obliterated  the  little  word  "hooter." 

Pardon  this  digression,  and  I  will  return  to  the 
narrative  of  my  experience  at  Wheatland. 

While  the  controversy  was  going  on  in  regard  to 
the  University,  and  the  prospect  grew  brighter  of 
having  it  established  at  Rochester,  a  proposition 
was  made  to  raise  an  endowment  fund  of  one 
hundred  and  thirty  thousand  dollars ;  and  after  an 
effort  had  been  made  in  the  city,  the  next  place  that 
was  expected  to  "lift"  was  Wheatland.  Rev.  Dr. 
Church,  Deacon  O.  Sage  and  John  N.  Wilder,  by 
my  invitation  came  up,  and  in  less  than  two  days 


202      FROM    THE    STAGE    COACH   TO    THE    PULPIT. 

they  raised  over  seven  thousand  dollars.  I  think 
this  was  the  largest  subscription  from  any  country 
church  in  the  State.  While  they  had  the  wealth, 
they  also  had  the  disposition — a  consideration  still 
more  important.  They  believed  in  education. 
They  sent  their  children  to  the  best  schools  the 
country  afforded. 


ADRIAN.  203 


CHAPTER  XV. 

ADRIAN. 

IN  1849,  the  church  in  Adrian,  Michigan,  sent  me 
an  invitation  to  visit  them.  I  went  and  spent  a 
mouth  or  more,  and  gave  them  encouragement  that 
I  might  accept  their  call  to  the  pastorate.  I  came 
home  with  that  expectation,  and  did  resign ;  but  my 
church  delayed  action  in  regard  to  it  until  the 
small-pox  had  broken  out  in  town,  and  my  own 
family  were  afflicted  with  it.  And  for  six  long 
weeks  all  communication  was  closed.  No  meetings, 
except  those  occasioned  by  the  funerals.  Indeed, 
every  day  seemed  like  a  constant  funeral.  As  soon 
as  we  came  together  as  a  church,  a  memorial  was 
handed  me  asking  me  to  withdraw  my  resignation, 
signed  by  a  long  list  of  the  best  members  of  the 
church  and  society.  I  complied,  and  went  to  work 
as  before.  But,  in  the  spring  following,  the  church 
in  Adrian  renewed  their  call,  and  I  accepted.  In 
July,  1850,  I  moved  to  Michigan. 


204      FROM   THE    STAGE   COACH   TO   THE   PULPIT. 

This  was  a  sorrowful  year  to  the  family.  One 
of  our  dear  children  sickened  and  died,  in  less  than 
a  month  after  our  arrival,  of  a  disease  superinduced 
by  the  small-pox  while  at  Wheatland.  Soon,  the 
other  children  were  attacked  with  the  chills  and 
fever  common  to  that  climate.  And  then  came  my 
turn.  I  was  seized  as  if  by  an  armed  force.  So, 
out  of  the  fifty-two  Sundays  of  the  year,  I  was  only 
able  to  attend  church  thirty-three,  and  then  with 
more  shakes  than  Gospel. 

The  church  had  just  closed  a  long  series  of 
meetings,  under  the  supervision  of  that  extraordinary 
man  of  God,  Morgan  Edwards.  Already  about 
two  hundred  had  been  baptized  into  the  fellowship 
of  the  church,  and  the  first  Sabbath  after  I  arrived 
I  baptized  twenty-four  more.  Thus  the  church  had 
a  mushroom  growth  from  about  one  hundred  to 
about  two  hundred  and  fifty ;  and  the  man  who  had 
led  the  vanguard  had  left  the  forces  scattered  and 
without  a  leader.  All  classes  were  thus  gathered 
into  the  church,  without  much  system  or  unity  of 
belief.  Of  course,  we  do  not  blame  Brother 
Edwards.  It  was  not  his  place  to  systematize  and 
educate.  Some  of  the  converts  had  not  been  near 
the  church  after  being  baptized,  and  did  not  intend 


ADRIAN.  205 

to  come.  All  they  wanted  was  to  be  baptized. 
One  man,  who  had  been  received,  came  to  me  and 
wanted  me  to  sprinkle  his  children !  He  intended 
to  have  it  done  before  he  left  "Hingland,"  but  had 
neglected  it.  "But,"  I  said,  "your  children  are  not 
believers,  are  they?"  "No,  indeed  they  are  not; 
and  that  is  why  I  want  them  christened.  Me  and 
my  Bettie,  ye  know,  were  christened  hinto  the 
Church  of  Hingland,  ye  know,  and  then  we  were 
come  to  Hamerica,  and  have  been  baptized  by 
Brother  Hed wards.  Now,  we's  want  our  children  in 
has  good  standing  as  we  are."  It  was  with  great 
difficulty  that  I  could  make  him  understand  the 
nature  of  the  ordinance  of  Christ's  house — in  fact,  I 
did  not  explain  it  to  his  entire  satisfaction,  for  he 
and  his  "Bettie"  went  and  joined  the  Methodists, 
who  would  accommodate  them  to  almost  anything 
they  wanted  in  a  so-called  religious  way.  They 
doubtless  felt  far  more  "at  home"  among  the 
Methodists.  We  felt  relieved.  This  was  an  extra 
ordinary  case ;  but  many  were  singularly,  if  not 
similarly,  affected. 

It  was  here  the  story  was  started  that  I  ran  horses 
at  a  State  fair.  It  grew  out  of  the  fact  that  I  had  a 
good  horse  and  carriage  at  the  time  the  State  fair 


206       FROM    THE    STAGE    COACH   TO    THE    PULPIT. 

was  held  at  Adrian,  that  I  had  brought  with  me 
from  Wheatland.  The  animal  was  well  broken  and 
thought  to  be  the  best  of  any  in  the  community, 
and  I  was  invited  to  "enter"  him  for  a  prize.  I 
agreed  to,  and  before  the  fair  came  off  I  trained  my 
little  boy,  fourteen  years  old,  to  drive.  The  horse 
needed  no  training.  I  told  the  boy  to  just  sit  up 
straight  and  mind  his  own  business,  and  pay  no 
attention  to  others.  I  thought  he  was  trained  all 
right,  and  I  could  trust  him  to  enter  the  ground 
with  the  horse  and  carriage.  The  time  came  to 
exhibit  this  sort  of  property,  and  the  boy  drove  into 
the  grounds  with  a  long  list  of  others.  But  the 
cracking  of  whips  and  the  rattle  of  wheels  scared 
the  boy, — not  the  horse,  for  it  hardly  knew  what 
a  whip  meant.  The  fear  he  was  under  caused  him 
to  drive  over  the  chains,  and  I  saw  that  something 
must  be  done  to  redeem  this  mishap,  or  I  should 
lose  the  premium.  So,  a  friend,  Mr.  S.  W.  W., 
said:  "Elder,  you  go,  drive  your  own  horse."  I 
did  so,  and  of  course  took  the  first  premium  for  the 
best-trained  horse  in  a  single  carriage. 

In  a  few  days,  one  of  our  Adrian  merchants  went 
East  and  fell  in  company  with  two  clergymen  of 
niy  own  denomination,  who  inquired  very  curiously 


ADRIAN.  207 

about  me.  He  replied:  "Oh,  yes;  I  know  him 
very  well,  and  a  very  clever  fellow  he  is,  too.  He 
has  just  had  a  streak  of  good  luck."  "Oh,  indeed  !" 
says  one  of  the  ministers;  "in  what  way?"  "Oh, 
he  won  five  hundred  dollars  at  a  horse  race  !"  "At 
a  horse-race?"  inquired  my  dumb-founded  friends. 
"Yes,  at  a  horse-race.  I  was  there,  and  saw  it 
myself."  The  story  went  all  over  the  land  as  on 
the  wings  of  the  wind.  The  merchant  has  had 
many  a  hearty  laugh  over  it  at  my  expense.  This 
is  my  first  and  last  experience  with  agricultural 
horse  trots.  If  it  was  so  then,  it  is  certainly  so 
now,  that  one  can't  participate  in  them  with  horses, 
in  any  way,  and  not  run  great  risks  of  losing  his 
good  moral  reputation. 

I  saw  that  the  condition  of  things  was  such  in  the 
church  at  Adrian  that  it  would  take  years  to  get  all 
into  good  running  order.  Careful  discrimination  was 
necessary  between  the  "chaff  and  the  wheat."  Many 
that  had  been  brought  into  the  church  under  the 
great  religious  awakening,  were  genuine  Christians, 
and  evinced  an  earnest  disposition  to  live  godly 
lives,  but  they  needed  instruction,  and  constant 
watching  for  a  time.  Others,  of  whom  we  stood  in 
some  doubt,  might  in  time  be  saved  to  the  church, 


208      FROM   THE    STAGE    COACH   TO    THE    PULPIT. 

and  be  made  of  some  value  to  the  cause.  Others 
still,  if  saved  at  all,  would  have  to  be  saved  "so  as 
by  fire."  So  all  the  next  winter  the  pastor  and 
church  tdiled  to  effect  a  healthful  "circulation"  in 
the  extremities  of  the  patient's  system.  But  there 
was  an  organic  disease  that  neither  "cholagogue  nor 
quinine"  could  reach — intermittent  chills  and  fever, 
day  chills  and  night  sweats.  These  bid  fair  to  bring 
on  quick  consumption.  To  individualize  the  figure 
a  little,  many  had  become  so  prostrated  already,  that 
they  could  not  say  "Shiboleth,"  one  of  the  last  words 
given  up.  A  patient  is  very  sick  that  can't  speak 
this  ;  and  very  well,  that  won't  speak  it.  Some  of 
the  members  had  become  ritualists.  They  didn't 
read  off  their  part  in  the  covenant  meeting,  but 
committed  and  repeated  it.  "I  hope  you  will  pray 
for  me,  that  I  may  hold  out  faithful,  and  when  I  die, 
that  I  may  meet  you  all  in  heaven" — about  as  much 
evidence  that  a  man  is  a  disciple  of  Jesus,  as  looking 
out  of  the  east  window  in  the  morning  is,  that  he  is 
a  Persian  fire-worshiper. 

But,  there  were  some  old  staunch  men  and 
women,  and  a  number  of  young  people,  who,  like 
Caleb  and  Joshua,  were  bound  to  stand  by  the 
truth ;  who  loved  the  Church  and  its  ordinances,  and 


ADRIAN.  209 

felt  themselves  bound  to  see  the  body  restored  to 
its  former  health  and  efficiency.  Among  this 
number  was  a  Mrs.  M.,  a  very  intelligent  and  useful 
body,  the  wife  of  a  lawyer  who  had  been  a  man  of 
some  importance  in  the  State.  But  he  had  become 
so  dissipated  and  lost  to  respect  that  he  had  lost 
place  and  power  as  a  politician,  and  was  a  kind  of 
"hanger-on  around  town,"  getting  his  liquor  where 
he  could  sponge  it.  One  of  our  brethren  said  to 
him  one  day,  "Squire  M.,  why  don't  you  go  to 
meeting  with  your  wife  and  hear  our  minister?"  He 
straightened  himself  up,  and  in  a  pompous  manner 
said,  "Well,  Mr.  W.,  I  will  tell  you.  When  I 
go  to  church  I  want  to  hear  a  man  preach  who  has 
not  been  a  stage  driver,  and  never  was  drunk,"  and 
then  set  up  a  hearty  laugh  at  Mr.  W.'s  expense. 
Some  one  who  heard  this  conversation  and  was  quite 
indignant  at  it,  came  and  told  me  about  it.  A  few 
months  after,  one  Lord's  day  morning,  there  came 
into  the  house  of  God,  this  same  Squire  M.  and  his 
wife,  his  face  all  radiant  with  poor  whisky.  His 
eyes  looked  like  worn  out  button  holes.  I  was 
discoursing  that  morning  from  the  words :  "As  ye 
go,  preach."  I  was  enforcing  the  importance  of  all 
preaching,  and  preaching  everywhere,  by  example, 


210       FROM    THE    STAGE    COACH    TO    THE    PULPIT. 

character,  and  conversation.  "It  isn't  all  in  all  that 
you  should  be  learned  or  eloquent.  The  first  dis 
ciples  were  poor,  and  mostly  illiterate,  but  they 
preached  pretty  effectually.  Suppose  a  man  has 
been  a  shoemaker,  a  poor  sailor,  or  a  stage  driver ; 
when  he  is  sober  and  in  his  right  mind,  can't  he 
preach,  and  do  as  much  good  as  a  miserable,  drunken 
lawyer?" 

The  sensation  all  over  the  house  was  apparent. 
All  eyes  turned  involuntarily  towards  Squire  M. 
The  next  day  he  met  brother  W.,  and  said:  "W., 
that  was  a  home  thrust  your  Elder  gave  me  yester 
day,  and  my  wife  thinks  it  is  good  enough  for  me. 
I  kind  of  like  the  fellow.  I  believe  I'll  come  and 
hear  him  again.  He  is  not  afraid  to  speak  what  he 
thinks." 

The  continued  sickness  in  our  family,  and  my 
own  imperfect  state  of  health,  with  the  vast  amount 
of  pastoral  care  demanded  in  this  church,  induced 
me  to  consider  a  call  I  had  received  from  the  church 
at  Penn  Yan.  Our  "anniversaries"  met  that  spring 
in  Boston,  and  I  was  advised  to  take  a  trip  East,  in 
company  with  my  physician,  John  Cadman,  and 
attend  the  Boston  meetings.  On  my  way  home,  I 
called  at  Penn  Yan,  and  spent  two  Sundays.  The 


ADRIAN.  211 

church  had  been  without  a  pastor  some  months,  and 
were  quite  desirous  of  the  speedy  settlement  of  a 
pastor. 

After  my  return  home,  I  laid  the  matter  before 
the  church  at  Adrian,  and  resigned,  after  a  short  and 
trying  pastorate  of  one  year.  But  little  had  been 
done  for  the  conversion  of  souls,  most  of  our  efforts 
having  been  put  forth  in  behalf  of  those  who  were 
in  need  of  greatest  care  and  nursing,  and  to  save  the 
church  from  shipwreck ; — all  under  the  distressing 
influence  of  chills  and  fever. 


212   FROM  THE  STAGE  COACH  TO  THE  PULPIT. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

PENN   YAN. 

/T\HE  Baptist  church  in  Penn  Yan  stood  high 
-L  among  the  churches  in  that  part  of  the  State  as 
an  old  and  efficient  body  of  Christians,  numbering 
at  the  time  three  hundred  and  twenty-eight.  They 
had  not  enjoyed  a  revival  for  a  long  time,  and  had 
now  been  destitute  of  a  pastor  altogether  too  long. 
Formalism  had  eaten  out  some  of  the  joy  of  salvation 
from  their  hearts.  But  they  were  a  united  people, 
and  believed  in  every  good  work,  and  in  love  to  all 
mankind.  If  the  temperance  reform  was  to  be 
pushed,  they  were  ready.  If  "abolition"  was  to 
be  agitated,  they  were  found  in  the  front  rank. 
They  believed  in  the  largest  liberty,  and  in  the 
highest  state  of  religious  life.  God  was  with  them, 
and  in  them.  During  the  first  summer,  about  all  I 
could  do  was  to  encourage  the  young,  comfort  the 
aged,  and  marshal  the  forces  for  a  future  onset  upon 
the  powers  of  darkness.  This  latter  work,  we 


PENN   YAN.  213 

think,  by  divine  grace  we  succeeded  in  accom 
plishing. 

Many  ministers  make  a  failure  on  this  point.  In 
time  of  declension  they  talk  and  preach  depressingly, 
and  so  make  depression  more  oppressive.  What 
would  we  think  of  a  man  in  dark  and  cloudy  weather, 
who  should  come  out  upon  his  door-steps  and  begin 
to  lament  in  this  manner :  "Dark  day !  a  very 
d-a-r-k  d-a-y,  r-a-i-n-y  and  c-o-l-d.  We  are 
g-o-i-u-g  to  h-a-v-e  a  s-t-o-r-m-y  n-i-g-h-t.  We 
s-h-a-n-t  r-a-i-s-e  o-u-r  b-r-e-a-d  t-h-i-s  y-e-a-r. 
I  n-e-v-e-r  s-a-w  t-h-e  1-i-k-e  in  all  my  e-x- 
t-e-n-d-e-d  e-x-p-e-r-i-e-n-c-e .  T-h-e-r-e-'-s  n-o 
u-s-e  of  t-r-y-i-n-g."  Any  common-sense  person 
would  say  he  was  sick  with  the  blues.  So  far  as  he 
had  any  influence  over  his  neighbors,  it  would  be 
injurious. 

I  consider  this  continual  croaking  in  the  church, 
and  the  fault-finding  spirit,  productive  of  the  very 
evil  which  it  is  intended  to  overcome.  Come  out 
with  a  good  sermon  on  "Hope  thou  in  God."  Get 
the  people  4o  look  away  from  themselves,  and  exalt 
the  Lord  in  their  hearts.  Get  them  into  the  habit 
of  taking  cheerful  views.  In  a  covenant  meeting, 
where  croaking  and  mourning  were  the  ord£l'  of  the 


214      FROM    THE    STAGE    COACH    TO   THE    PULPIT. 

day,  an  old  lady,  the  last  one  to  speak,  arose  and 
said.  "Why,  brethren  and  sisters,  you  distress  me. 
Jesus  is  the  same  yesterday,  to-day  and  forever. 
His  promises  will  not  fail.  Don't  let  us  any  more 
entertain  each  other  with  this  kind  of  cold  victuals. 
I  always  set  the  best  I  have  in,  my  house  before  my 
company,  and  when  I  am  alone,  I  eat  the  crusts  in 
silence,  thanking  God  for  the  warm  meals  I  have 
enjoyed."  This  little  talk  of  the  aged  sister  entirely 
changed  the  tone  of  the  church ;  the  minister  felt 
relieved,  and  he  and  his  people  changed  all  their 
social  religious  habits,  so  that  God  renewed  them. 
Early  in  September,  I  began  to  apply  the  truths 
I  had  been  preaching  during  the  summer,  and  to 
increase  the  number  of  our  prayer  meetings  from 
one  to  two,  and  then  to  three  a  week.  Instead  of  a 
sermon  on  Sabbath  afternoon,  we  often  turned  it 
into  a  conference  talk,  the  meeting  taking  this  turn 
naturally,  and  not  by  previous  notice.  Never 
advertise  any  such  change,  nor  be  afraid  of  taking 
the  liberty  of  making  it.  This  was  like  the  "nine 
and  twenty  knives,"  spoken  of  in  tha  Scripture. 
By  October  the  church  was  in  a  good  working  con 
dition,  and  it  was  plainly  to  be  seen  that  a  change 
had  come  over  the  spirit  of  their  dreams.  Family 


PENN    YAN.  215 

altars  were  reconstructed.  Old  heart-burnings  were 
healed.  The  frivolity  of  the  youth  had  given  place 
to  sober  thinking  and  prayer.  Men  of  the  world 
were  becoming  more  attentive  in  the  house  of  God. 
By  November,  we  were  "protracting"  our  meetings, 
and  hardly  knew  how  or  when  the  extra  interest 
began.  I  think  it  often  gives  the  devil  a  favorable 
chance  to  rally  his  forces  and  oppose,  to  advertise 
long  beforehand  the  intention  of  the  church  to  hold 
extra  meetings.  Things  went  on  in  glorious  majesty 
for  ninety-seven  days  and  nights,  and  there  was  not 
a  dog  to  yelp  against  it.  Sinners  were  constantly 
pressing  to  the  inquiry  meetings  for  advice  and 
prayer,  and  the  outlet  of  the  beautiful  lake  was 
visited  every  Sabbath  to  introduce  the  new-born 
souls  into  the  visible  kingdom  of  the  Captain  of 
their  salvation. 

And  now  came  the  tug  of  war.  A  number  of  the 
youth  that  had  been  in  the  habit  of  attending  the 
Congregational  church,  and  some  of  the  members  of 
that  church,  came  into  this  work.  Some  were 
converted,  some  were  revived,  as  the  case  might 
be.  As  soon  as  they  felt  the  need  of  a  higher  stand 
in  religious  living,  in  the  simplicity  of  their  hearts 
they  went  to  their  pastor,  the  Rev.  Mr.  C.  for 


216       FROM    THE    STAGE    COACH    TO    THE    PULPIT. 

instruction.  He  inquired  of  them  where  they  first 
began  to  be  exercised  on  the  subject.  They  tol'd 
him,  "in  the  meetings  at  the  Baptist  church." 
"Well,"  said  he,  "my  advice  to  you,  my  young 
friends,  is  to  keep  away  from  those  meetings.  We 
never  had  any  such  meetings  down  in  Stockbridge, 
in  Massachusetts,  where  I  came  from.  And  I 
understand  that  Elder  Stimson  has  been  a  stage 
driver  and  a  hard  case,  and  used  to  get  intoxicated 
and  turn  over  the  stage  ;  and  my  impression  is,  that 
he  will  upset  the  Baptist  church,  and  have  them  all 
in  the  mud  before  spring.  Your  best  way  is  to 
come  to  our  regular  meetings,  and  let  Stimson  and 
the  Baptists  quiet  be." 

This  was  a  poser  to  the  unsophisticated  youth. 
These  young  folks  came  into  our  next  young 
people's  meeting,  and  one  of  them,  my  son,  a  lad 
sixteen  or  seventeen  years  of  age  being  present, 
asked  a  Baptist  friend,  with  surprise:  "Was  Mr. 
Stimson  ever  a  stage  driver?"  To  which  he  replied  : 
"I  suppose  he  was."  He  told  what  Rev.  Mr.  C. 
had  said.  When  seeing  my  son,  they  begged  his 
pardon  and  the  interview  closed.  But  my  boy  could 
not  forget  what  he  had  heard.  He  came  home  and 
inquired  :  "Father,  have — you — ever — been — i 


PENN   YAN.  217 

stage  driver  ?  "     «  Yes .     Why  ?     W hat  of  it  ?  "    He 
related  the  conversation  at  the  meeting. 

The  next  Sabbath,  I  gave  the  reasons  for  coming 
to  that  place  to  baptize,  instead  of  administering  the 
ordinance  with  a  little  water  in  the  house.  And 
this  was  all  I  said.  The  next  Tuesday,  I  met  Mr. 
C.  in  the  street,  and  after  recognizing  me,  he  said : 
"Mr.  Stimson,  the  clergymen  of  the  village  held  a 
meeting  at  my  study  this  morning,  and  having 
heard  what  you  said  at  the  water  last  Sabbath,  wre 
have  concluded  not  to  extend  to  you  the  courtesies 
of  the  ministry  any  longer,  and  I  was  appointed  a 
committee  to  inform  you  of  our  decision."  "Indeed," 
I  replied  ;  "  What  have  I  said,  and  who  is  your 
informant?"  "Well,"  he  said,  "it  is 'on  the  street, 
and  I  will  not  extend  our  conversation  any  further. 
Good  day,  sir."  He  wouldn't  tell,  nor  hear  me  tell, 
what  I  said,  and  passed  along. 

In  the  afternoon,  I  met  the  Methodist  minister, 
and  asked  him  to  explain  the  affair.  "Oh  !  Mr.  C.," 
said  he,  "wanted  a  resolution  he  had  written  against 
yourself  passed  by  our  little  meeting ;  and  to  show 
you,  Brother  Stimson,  that  I  do  not  have  any  such 
feelings,  I  wish  to  exchange  with  you  next  Sabbath." 
I  consented.  The  thing  went  over  town  like  a 


218       FROM    THE    STAGE    COACH    TO    THE    PULPIT. 

prairie  fire.  I  soon  baptized  five  of  his  members 
and  as  many  more  from  his  congregation,  taking  the 
three  best  singers  out  of  his  choir.  Mr.  C.'s  people 
asked  him  to  resign.  He  refused  to  do  it,  and  they 
closed  the  meeting-house  on  Sundays  until  his  year 
was  out,  when  he  left  for  the  West.  The  revival 
continued,  and  extended  into  the  churches  at  Milo 
and  Benton. 

During  this  summer,  I  received  an  accident  that 
came  near  costing  me  my  life.  I  had  been  invited 
to  deliver  a  fourth  of  July  oration  at  Bethel.  When 
in  the  middle  of  my  talk  the  platform  broke, 
carrying  down  thirty  men  some  eight  feet.  I  lay 
for  nine  long  weeks  a  great  sufferer,  not  expecting 
ever  to  preach  again.  After  I  was  able  to  be  about, 
I  visited  my  old  field  of  pleasant  toil  at  Wheatland. 
Rev.  Dr.  W.  W.  Everts  had  succeeded  me  in  the 
pastorate,  and  radical  changes  had  taken  place.  The 
church  had  extended  her  enterprise  in  meeting-house 
building.  A  new  house  had  been  erected  at  Clifton, 
two-and-a-half  miles  to  the  east,  and  one  at 
Mumford,  two-and-a-half  miles  to  the  south. 
Churchville  had  already  become  an  independent 
body  and  also  had  a  meeting-house,  making  in  all 
four  congregations.  The  pet  plan  of  Dr.  Everts 


PENN   YAN.  219 

was  to  have  them  all  one  church,  but  four  congre 
gations,  he  to  be  the  pastor,  and  the  churches  to 
employ  the  young  men  from  the  seminary  at 
Rochester  to  supply  them  alternately,  in  his  absence 
in  going  from  one  to  the  other. 

To  some  the  enterprise  looked  feasible,  to  others 
objectionable.  About  the  time  the  new  house  was 
completed  in  Clifton  and  the  one  in  Mumford  in  an 
advanced  state,  a  decided  opposition  to  the  plan  was 
manifested.  He  had  warm  supporters  of  his  ideas, 
but  on  the  other  hand  he  had  hearty  opposers.  The 
opposing  sides  were  about  equally  represented  by 
the  leading  men  in  the  church.  The  determination 
to  carry  the  opposing  plans  was  about  equally 
divided.  Each  side  engaged  in  the  contest  to  win. 
Church  meeting  after  church  meeting  had  been  held, 
and  yet  the  matter  was  unsettled. 

The  Clifton  portion  of  the  church  had  invited  me 
to  be  present  at  the  dedication  of  their  house,  and 
preach  the  sermon.  A  friendly  conference  was  also 
held  at  the  house  of  Gen.  R.  Harman,  to  consider 
what  means  were  expedient  in  order  to  conciliate 
brethren  who  for  years  had  lived  and  worked 
together  in  the  unity  of  the  Spirit,  many  of  them 
from  childhood.  It  was  then  advised  to  organize 


220      FROM    THE    STAGE    COACH    TO    THE    PULPIT. 

two  churches,  one  at  Clifton  and  one  at  Mumford, 
as  it  was  evident  these  three  parties  could  not  work 
and  walk  together  harmoniously  in  the  old  church 
at  Wheatland. 

Acting  on  this  informal  advice,  these  branches 
resolved  themselves  into  independent  churches  and 
called  a  council  for  their  recognition.  The  church 
at  Clifton  extended  me  a  call  to  become  their  pastor, 
which  I  accepted.  The  same  council  which  met  for 
the  recognition  of  the  church,  also  recognized  me 
as  pastor.  Rev.  Dr.  G.  W.  Howard,  of  Rochester, 
preached  the  sermon.  This  was  in  December.  The 
next  day  the  same  council  met  at  Mumford,  and 
recognized  that  little  band  of  disciples  as  a  church. 
Sermon  by  Rev.  H.  K.  Stimson,  and  hand  of 
fellowship  by  Rev.  Zenas  Case,  of  Ogden. 

Thus  the  old  hive  had,  within  the  space  of  a  little 
over  three  years,  produced  three  swarms,  and  all 
of  them  comfortably  hived — Clifton,  Churchville 
and  Mumford.  And  the  mother  hive  was  no  less 
determined  than  ever,  though  somewhat  enfeebled, 
to  gather  honey,  to  live  and  let  live. 

Dr.  Everts  soon  resigned,  and  was  succeeded  by 
Rev.  S.  M.  Baiubridge  as  pastor  at  Wheatland.  At 
Churchville,  Rev.  J.  C.  Drake  was  elected  pastor; 


PENN   YAN.  221 

at  Mumford,  Rev.  Chaiicy  Wardner,  and  at  Clifton, 
Rev.  H.  K.  Stimson.  The  old  church  at  Wheatland 
had  given  letters  to  all  who  requested,  to  join  any 
one  of  the  three  without  regard  to  location.  One  or 
two  families  living  at  Wheatland  went  to  Mumford, 
but  all  the  rest  were  within  convenient  distance  of 
the  church  of  their  choice. 

The  Wheatland  church  still  retained  some  of  the 
best  material  in  the  community,  Deacon  Tirah 
Blackmer  and  his  family,  Ira  Harman  and  family, 
Gen.  T.  Brown  and  family,  Ariel  Harman  and  family, 
Hon.  Elisha  Harman  and  family,  Sylvester  Harman 
and  family,  Martin  Sage  and  family,  the  daughter 
and  sons  of  Capt.  E.  Blackmer,  and  a  very 
respectable  poftion  of  the  outside  society  in  and 
about  the  town.  But  things  did  not  appear  as  they 
used  to  in  the  days  of  her  prosperity.  The  dear 
old  church  had  lost  much  of  its  former  glory.  The 
large  congregation  that  used  to  fill  the  commodious 
house,  had  dwindled  down  to  a  small  one.  The 
ample  contributions  often  made  to  benevolent 
objects,  were  now  scanty  in  comparison. 

Here  are  some  figures  showing  the  Christian 
liberality  of  the  old  church  in  1847-48  :  For 
foreign  missions,  $565  ;  for  home  missions,  $127  ; 


222      FROM   THE    STAGE    COACH   TO    THE    PULPIT. 

for  publication  cause,  $112 ;  education,  $150;  Bible 
cause,  $85;  other  objects,  $111 — total,  $1,150. 
And  a  year  or  two  afterwards,  they  gave,  while  Dr. 
Everts  was  pastor,  to  the  Bible  Union  alone,  $1,000. 
The  four  churches  altogether  have  not  come  up  to 
it  by  one  half  any  year  since.  We  have  not  intro 
duced  these  figures  for  the  sake  of  invidious  com 
parison.  It  was  the  community  in  which  we  spent 
the  happiest  portion  of  our  ministry.  Dr.  Everts 
and  myself  were,  and  are,  personal  friends.  But 
aside  from  all  personal  considerations,  the  figures 
ought  to  convey  a  lesson. 

The  church  at  Clifton  numbered  but  fifty-two  at 
the  organization.  But  the  Lord  was  with  us,  so  that 
by  the  time  the  Association  met,  we  reported  a 
membership  of  eighty-three.  This  was  the  strongest 
of  the  new  organizations,  both  numerically  and  in 
personal  ability.  It  was  composed  of  men  of  sound 
judgment,  and  good  business  habits.  A  number  of 
them  had  long  been  steadfast  workers  in  the  mother 
church.  And  their  children,  brought  up  by  such 
nursing  fathers  and  mothers  as  were  these  true 
Christian  men  and  women,  became,  at  least  many  of 
them,  similar  ornaments  to  the  Church  of  Christ.  A 
large  number  of  these  I  had  welcomed  into  the  fold, 


PENN   YAN.  223 

during  my  pastoral  care  of  the  undivided  body.  This 
made  it  very  pleasant  to  resume  pastoral  relations 
with  them.  I  knew  them,  and  had  perfect  confidence 
in  their  piety  and  integrity. 

In  the  winter  and  spring  of  1853-54,  the  church 
of  which  I  was  then  pastor  was  blessed  with  a 
powerful  work  of  the  Spirit.  It  had  been  manifest 
ing  itself  all  the  autumn  and  winter  by  an  uncommon 
spirit  of  prayer,  especially  on  the  part  of  the  older 
members.  My  health  was  yet  feeble  from  my  fall, 
and  not  being  able  to  endure  as  much  hardship  as 
formerly,  I  sent  for  Rev.  R.  C.  Palmer — the,  pastor 
has  the  right  to  send  off  for  an  assistant,  without 
submiting  the  matter  to  a  vote  of  the  church,  though 
it  may  generally  be  expedient  to  take  formal  action 
first — who  was  a  workman  that  needeth  not  to  be 
ashamed.  His  coming  was  like  the  "coming  of 
Titus."  God  was  with  him  in  the  power  of  His 
great  Spirit.  He  resorted  to  no  claptrap.  He  got 
up  no  furor  of  passion.  He  was  not  known  for 
making  it  "easy"  for  sinners  to  become  Christians. 
He  poured  forth  the  living  truth  of  God's  Word, 
showing  man's  lost  condition,  and  his  only  hope  to 
be  found  in  Christ.  A  large  number  believed,  and 
gladly  followed  Jesus  in  baptism.  They  were  of  all 


224      FROM   THE    STAGE    COACH   TO   THE   PULPIT. 

ages,  from  the  child  of  tender  years  to  men  of  gray 
hairs ;  some  of  them  long  accustomed  to  overt  acts 
of  sin.  It  was  a  godsend  to  this  young  church,  the 
stay  of  brother  Palmer  with  us  for  five  weeks,  and 
the  conversion  of  such  a  goodly  number. 

My  health  had  become  so  impaired  that  physicians 
advised  me  to  submit  to  a  surgical  operation. 
Accordingly,  I  went  to  New  York,  and  after  six 
weeks,  the  most  of  the  time  passed  in  severe 
suffering,  I  was  relieved  and  came  home  much 
better,  and  renewed  in  my  spirit.  While  in  the 
city,  I  was  made  the  welcome  guest  of  a  brother 
and  sister  Hoskins,  who  nursed  and  cared  for  me 
as  for  an  own  brother.  This  was  the  result  of  a 
simple  incident  in  Providence.  A  number  of  years 
before,  while  up  in  the  Alleghany  country,  I  wished 
to  find  a  place  to  pass  the  night,  and  called  at  the 
shanty  of  a  lumberman,  who  could  not  entertain 
me,  but  directed  me  to  a  Mr.  Hoskins,  who  lived 
down  the  creek  about  a  mile,  "close  to  the  saw-mill." 
I  hastened  on,  and  found  a  snug  little  cottage,  where 
I  was  hospitably  welcomed  and  entertained.  I 
found  them  to  be  earnest,  humble,  devout  members 
of  the  Baptist 'Church.  They  were  poor  in  goods, 
but  rich  in  faith.  Twenty  years  had  elapsed.  His 


PENN    YAN.  225 

pastor  in  New  York  I  had  baptized  fourteen  or 
fifteen  years  before.  While  they  were  in  consul 
tation  one  day,  my  name  was  mentioned.  "I  know 
him,"  said  Hoskins  ;  "he  spent  a  night  at  my  house 
in  Alleghany,  and  if  you  ever  see  him  tell  him 
where  I  am,  and  if  he  ever  comes  to  the  city  I 
wish  him  to  call  on  me."  They  were  now  rich,  but 
the  same  simple,  unostentatious  Christians.  They 
have  long  since  entered  upon  their  bright  reward 
in  the  Spirit  land.  Of  course,  my  stay  with  them 
was  as  pleasant  as  it  could  be  made  in  the  midst 
of  continual  suffering.  Drs.  Mott  and  Parker,  who 
performed  the  operation,  charged  nothing,  as  I  was 
a  minister  of  the  Gospel.  Their  bill  would  have 
been  a  hundred  dollars.  There  are  some  advantages 
in  being  a  poor  minister  after  all. 

The  next  winter,  I  helped  in  special  meetings 
with  a  number  of  churches.  I  was  at  Marion, 
assisting  Pastor  J.  W.  Osborn ;  at  Webster, 
assisting  Pastor  Holt;  then  at  Dansville,  with 
Pastor  Ho  well  Smith  ;  at  Parma,  with  Pastor  T.  H. 
Green,  and  at  Rochester,  with  Pastor  Howard. 

It  was  quite  convenient  to  have  the  seminary  so 
near  as  it  was  at  Rochester.  One  of  the  students, 
Rev.  J.  C.  Stevens,  belonged  to  our  church,  and  he 


226       FROM    THE    STAGE    COACH    TO    THE    PULPIT. 

helped  supply  my  pulpit.  He  was  a  choice  spirit. 
He  is  now  with  God.  The  four  years  spent  at 
Clifton  were  not  all  sunshine.  Death  had  his  work 
to  do.  He  entered  our  circle  at  the  parsonage  home 
and  took  a  dear  boy,  who  sleeps  in  the  new  cemetery 
among  the  sugar  maples.  In  the  church  and 
congregation,  too,  death  came.  The  young  wife 
of  Mr.  Hosmer,  a  lovely  Christian  lady,  was  taken. 
Miss  Phidelia  Harmon,  a  blooming  girl,  who  had 
just  graduated  from  the  seminary  at  Albion,  was 
called  upon  to  take  her  place  among  the  white-robed 
above.  Sidney  C.  Hosmer,  a  young  man  of  mm-h 
promise  to  the  church  and  his  dear  family,  left  us 
for  scenes  of  higher  activity  in  God's  great  home. 
We  could  illy  afford  to  lose  any  of  these  or  of  the 
others  whom  we  might  mention  who  were  translated 
from  the  Church  below  to  the  Church  triumphant. 
But  the  Master  had  need  of  them,  and  we  had  need 
of  the  discipline.  It  taught  the  younger  portion 
of  the  church  many  good  lessons  to  lose  for  time 
so  many  of  their  associates. 


MARION.  227 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

MAKION. 

(J\URING  the  fall  of  this  year,  1855,  the  church 
-J-^  at  Marion,  Wayne  county,  New  York,  had 
parted  with  their  pastor,  Rev.  J.  W.  Osborn,  with 
whom  I  had  held  a  meeting  two  years  before.  They 
at  once  desired  me  to  consider  a  call  to  the  pastorate. 
I  had  misgivings  about  settling  with  a  church  for 
whom  I  had  previously  labored  in  a  protracted 
meeting,  for  the  reasons  that  the  sermons  preached 
during  such  efforts  are  generally  on  a  higher  key 
than  ordinary  pastoral  preaching.  I  intimated  this 
to  the  committee.  But  they  said  it  had  already 
been  taken  into  the  account  by  the  church.  So 
I  accepted,  and  as  soon  as  I  could  resign  and  make 
due  arrangements,  I  left  my  Clifton  field  and  settled 
among  them. 

I  found  them  a  warm-hearted  people,  liberal  and 
zealous  in  every  good  word  and  work,  and,  more~ 
over,  quite  careful  about  their  pastor's  necessities. 


228      FROM    THE    STAGE    COACH   TO    THE    PULPIT. 

"We  had  come  into  the  place  late  in  the  fall,  and  saw 
at  once  that  little  aggressive  work  could  be  done 
that  season  for  the  souls  of  the  impenitent.  The 
Congregational  and  Methodist  churches  had  united 
and  sent  for  an  evangelist  to  conduct  their  union 
meetings.  I  was  invited  to  come  in  and  do  the 
"police"  work  in  the  camp,  while  the  brother 
evangelist  should  have  command  of  the  rank  and 
file.  Just  at  this  time,  I  received  a  telegraphic 
dispatch — telegrams  had  not  come  into  fashion 
then — from  the  Rev.  C.  C.  Norton,  pastor  of  the 
Sixth-street  Baptist  church  in  New  York  City,  to 
come  to  his  assistance  at  once,  as  a  great  work  of 
the  Spirit  had  begun  in  his  church.  I  started  that 
day.  "The  King's  business  requires  haste."  I  was 
absent  in  the  city  seven  weeks,  and  on  my  return 
found  the  union  meeting  yet  in  progress,  but  not  a 
soul  had  been  converted.  The  evangelist  had 
become  discouraged  and  left  the  place.  The  two 
pastors  were  still  trying  to  push  the  battle  to  the 
gates  of  the  enemy.  But  in  their  onsets,  they  spent 
most  of  their  ammunition  in  attacking  the  Baptist 
stronghold.  So  apparent  was  this,  that  my  people 
had  retired  from  the  field  in  good  order.  I  called 
the  day  of  my  return  at  a  store,  and  there  met  the 


MARION.  229 

two  co-laboring,  co-fighting  pastors.  The  merchant, 
an  old  man,  was  an  infidel.  He  had  lived  in  the 
town  about  forty  years,  and  had  been  acquainted 
with  its  history  from  the  beginning.  As  we  three 
stood  by  the  stove,  he  said :  "Well,  gents,  I  am 
glad  to  see  you  all  here  together.  I  want  to  give 
you  my  advice — it's  free ;  and  it's  this  :  give  up 
your  meetings  to  the  Baptists.  I  have  been  here 
forty  years,  and  in  all  that  time  all  the  revivals  have 
been  held  by  them.  Others  have  tried,  but  have 
come  out  just  as  you  have.  The  Elder  has  got 
home,  and  he's  an  old  war-horse.  Let  the  Baptists 
have  the  field.  That's  all;  now  do  as  you  please, 
gents." 

That  afternoon,  the  two  ministers  called  at  my 
study,  and  wished  to  hold  the  meetings  in  the  three 
churches,  including  the  Baptist,  rotating  from  one 
to  the  other.  I  replied  that  I  did  not  think  it  best 
for  me  to  go  into  any  such  arrangement.  "But,"  I 
added,  "when  you  get  through  with  your  effort,  if 
my  people  think  it  best,  we  may  hold  a  few  extra 
meetings."  They  then  proposed  that  our  church 
take  the  meeting  on  Sunday  night.  To  this  I 
consented,  on  condition  that  I  was  to  have  the 
control  of  it  without  "let  or  hindrance."  They 


230   FROM  THE  STAGE  COACH  TO  THE  PULPIT. 

consented.  So,  on  Sunday  evening  all  came  to  the 
Baptist  church.  I  had  asked  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  minister  to  preach.  He  took  for  his 
text  II  Samuel  iv.  4,  and  went  on  for  awhile  like 
the  man  in  the  Bible,  lame  in  both  his  feet,  not 
forgetting  to  make  a  few  thrusts  at  the  Baptists, 
and  then  said  AMEN  ;  and  we  all  said  amen  and 
amen. 

Monday  evening,  Rev.  E.  F.  Crane,  my  successor 
at  Clifton,  came  to  my  help.  As  he  entered  the 
meeting-house  he  commenced  to  sing,  a  thing  he 
could  do  as  few  can.  In  the  course  of  a  few  weeks, 
over  one  hundred  were  saved  in  Christ.  Brother 
Crane  staid  with  me  in  all  five  weeks.  When  he 
left  for  home,  eighty-four  had  united  with  the 
church.  As  soon  as  the  converts  began  to  follow 
Jesus  in  the  first  ordinance  of  His  house,  these  two 
loving,  "liberal"  clergymen  were  attacked  with 
sectarian  "fits,"  or  rather  hydrophobia — madness  at 
the  sight  of  "much  water."  The  Congregational 
minister  had  to  employ  the  "Christian"  minister  to 
baptize  a  lady  who  wished  to  join  his  church,  but 
insisted  on  being  baptized  and  not  sprinkled,  the 
follower  of  Jesus  declaring  that  he  would  not  "go 
into  the  water."  It  was  suggested  by  some  one 


MARION.  231 

"that  it  would  bring  on  a  spasm."  It  would  seem 
as  though  Christ  must  have  made  a  great  mistake 
in  one  of  His  ordinances  ! 

The  church  in  Marion,  with  all  their  good  habits, 
had  one  bad  one.  They  would  come  late  to 
meeting.  The  morning  services  were  at  half-past 
ten  o'clock.  They  had  a  good  bell,  and  it  was 
punctual  in  its  bland  tones  in  calling  them  to  the 
house  of  prayer.  Most  of  the  congregation  were 
punctual  enough ;  but  there  were  a  few  who  were 
forever  dropping  in  all  through  the  worship.  I 
expostulated.  No  good.  Late  attendance  was  a 
part  of  their  practical  piety.  At  length  I  tried  this 
expedient :  I  took  a  text  from  Ezekiel  ix.  3  :  "And 
he  called  to  the  man  clothed  with  linen  which  had 
the  writer's  ink  horn  by  his  side."  I  had  gone  on 
for  five  or  ten  minutes,  and  in  came  Brother  E. 
and  his  wife  and  two  daughters.  I  stopped  until 
they  had  taken  their  seats  and  then  quoted  the  text, 
"And  he  called  to  the  man  clothed  with  linen  which 
had  the  writer's  ink  horn  by  his  side ;"  and  added, 
"We  have  proceeded  some  way  in  our  subject,  and 
have  repeated  the  text  for  the  benefit  of  brother  E. 
and  his  family."  All  looked  at  them,  but  they  looked 
down.  On  \ve  went  again,  and  in  a  few  minutes 


232   FROM  THE  STAGE  COACH  TO  THE  PULPIT. 

more,  in  came  brother  S.  and  his  wife.  We  stood 
still  till  all  was  quiet,  and  then  repeated  the  text : 
"And  he  called  to  the  man  clothed  with  linen,  which 
had  the  writer's  ink  horn  by  his  side,"  and  then  said  : 
"For  the  instruction  of  brother  S.  and  his  wife,  we 
will  say  that  the  subject  is  thus  far  advanced,  and  we 
will  repeat  what  we  have  gone  over  for  your  benefit." 
Again  we  proceeded,  when  in  came  brother  J.,  who 
heard  all  about  the  "ink  horn"  and  all  the  preceding 
part  of  the  sermon.  We  persevered  up  to  the 
seventh  or  eighth  straggler,  emptying  the  ink  hoin 
upon  the  head  of  each.  It  was  an  effectual  antidote. 

One  thing  to  the  credit  of  this  town :  they  have 
had  no  grog  shop  in  it  for  over  thirty  years ;  those 
who  would  get  drunk  had  to  go  so  far  for  the  stuff, 
that  as  a  rule,  they  got  sober  before  reaching  home. 
In  the  village  is  a  fine  collegiate  institute  of  high 
order,  under  Baptist  control,  and  largely  patronized. 
The  church  has  sent  out  a  goodly  number  of  minis 
ters  who  were  converted  and  reared  there.  Rev. 
J.  H.  Morrison,  and  Rev.  H.  J.  Eddy,  D.  D.,  are 
among  the  number. 

During  this  year,  I  visited  my  children  and  other 
relatives  in  Michigan,  Illinois,  Wisconsin  and  Minne 
sota.  While  on  my  journey,  I  fell  in  with  an  old 


MAKION.  233 

friend  who  perpetrated  a  sell  on  me  and  others  in  the 
cars.  It  is  generally  a  religious  duty  to  tell  a  good 
joke.  It  was  about  the  time  that  Blondin,  the  rope 
walker,  was  exciting  the  country  with  his  exploits  at 
Niagara.  This  friend  and  companion  told  the  pass 
engers,  while  I  was  absent  in  another  car,  that  I  was 
Blondin.  When  I  returned,  I  was  much  annoyed  by 
people  flocking  about  my  seat,  and  staring  at  me 
with  an  uncommon  gaze.  I  was  so  much  annoyed 
by  it  that  I  went  into  another  car.  But  in  a  few 
minutes  in  they  came  like  so  many  harpies,  filling 
up  every  vacant  seat  and  even  the  passage-way, 
gaping  at  me  in  the  same  unaccountable  way.  At 
length  an  old  couple  came  in  and  took  a  seat  in  front 
of  me.  No  sooner  were  they  seated  than  the  old 
lady,  turning  around  and  raising  her  spectacles, 
peered  into  my  face  and  said  :  "Where  are  you  going 
to  perform  next?"  "I  am  going  to  Chicago,  madam," 
I  replied.  "Is  you  going  to  walk  the  rope  there? 
If  ye  du,  we  am  bound  to  see  ye  du  it."  "  Walk  a 
rope?  Why,  what  do  you  suppose  I  am?  I  do  not 
understand  you."  "Why,  ain't  you  that  feller 
what's  bin  crossing  Niagara  river  on  a  rope  so  many 
times?"  "No!  Who  said  I  was?"  "Why,  we 
heard  of  it  all  along  back  in  these  'ere  cars  ever  so 


234      FROM    THE    STAGE    COACH   TO    THE    PULPIT. 

many  times,  and  we  kind  o'  wanted  to  see  you,  ef 
you  was  the  feller.  Hope  you  arn't  ashamed  of  it?" 
I  saw  the  sell,  and  went  back  to  my  old  seat  in  the 
other  car,  where  I  found  my  friend  shaking  like  a 
man  with  the  palsy,  his  face  covered  with  a 
newspaper. 

We  stopped  that  night  at  Detroit.  The  next 
day,  taking  an  early  train  for  Chicago,  while  my 
friend  was  in  the  smoking  car,  I  asked  a  young 
gentleman  near  me  if  the  Hon.  Stephen  A.  Douglas 
would  make  a  speech  anywhere  on  the  way  to 
Chicago?  "Is  he  on  the  train?"  asked  a  number  of 
voices  at  once.  "Well,  that  gentleman  in  the 
smoking  car  looks  like  him,"  I  intimated.  Off  to 
the  smoking  car  went  two  or  three  in  hot  haste,  and 
soon  returned,  scattering  the  news  like  wild-fire  that 
Hon.  S.  A.  Douglas  was  on  board,  returning  from 
the  Senate.  Others  went  and  looked.  One  or  two 
said  it  was  not  Douglas,  but  others  were  quite 
confident  that  it  was ;  they  knew  him  like  a  book. 
The  resemblance  was  quite  striking. 

We  were  to  take  dinner  at  Marshal,  and  arrange 
ments  had  been  made  among  the  passengers  to  call 
him  out  for  a  speech.  Lest  I  should  be  identified 
in  the  matter,  I  had  gone  and  laid  down  in  a  vacant 


MARION.  235 

seat,  getting  up  just  in  time  to  be  prepared  for  the 
dinner.  As  the  train  neared  the  station,  a  big  lusty 
fellow  jumped  out  upon  the  platform,  as  soon  as 
the  train  slackened  up,  and  cried  out  at  the  top  of 
his  big  voice,  "Fellow-citizens,  ladies  and  gentle 
men,  I  propose  three  cheers  for  Hon.  Stephen  A. 
Douglas,  of  Illinois.  Hip,  hip,  hurrah  ! "  Our  stout, 
short  friend  pressed  his  way  to  the  wash-room, 
followed  by  the  multitude,  crying,  "A  speech !  a 
.speech !  Come,  now,  give  us  a  five  minutes' 
speech."  He  rushed  into  the  wash-room  and 
looked  at  me,  shaking  his  head  in  a  significant 
manner,  "Sold  out,  Blondin ;  I  will  pay  for  the 
dinner."  His  Chicago  friends  heard  of  it,  and  used 
to  address  him  as  "Honorable." 


236      FROM   THE    STAGE    COACH   TO   THE    PULPIT. 

I 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

RACINE. 

~T~  ATE  in  the  fall  of  1857,  I  received  an  invi- 
-L(  tation  to  visit  the  church  at  Racine,  Wisconsin; 
having  the  year  previous  spent  a  Lord's  day  there 
while  on  a  visit  among  friends  in  that  city.  Having 
consented  to  do  so,  I  closed  my  connection  with  the 
church  at  Marion,  and  on  Christmas  day  arrived  in 
Racine.  After  a  few  weeks'  stay  among  them,  they 
extended  me  a  call  to  the  pastorate.  I  had  already 
found  out  that  the  church  and  society  were  in  quite 
a  divided  state.  The  previous  pastor  was  a  resident 
in  the  city,  and  had  a  large  social  influence  in  the 
church  and  community.  He  had  been  pastor  there 
about  six  years,  and  as  in  all  cases,  he  had  his 
special  admirers ;  also  those  who  were  not  well 
pleased  with  him,  his  administration  and  manner  of 
preaching.  This  being  the  condition  of  things,  he 
had  resigned.  I  saw  chat  a  new  pastor  would  have 


RACINE.  237 

a  hard  time  of  it,  and  so  deferred  an  answer  to  their 
invitation.  But  I  consented  to  stay  two  or  three 
months  as  a  supply,  giving  the  church  a  fair  oppor 
tunity  to  become  acquainted  with  me,  and  me  an 
equal  opportunity  of  finding  them  out,  and  of 
satisfying  myself  as  to  my  duty  in  the  case. 

After  the  holidays  were  over,  there  were  evident 
tokens  of  good  manifest  in  the  church,  by  the 
Spirit's  reviving  the  members  to  a  closer  attachment 
to  the  Master.  Mutual  concessions  were  made,  and 
the  impenitent  were  being  stirred  up  to  think  upon 
their  ways.  Soon  the  city  was  paying  more  atten 
tion  to  religious  matters  than  had  been  the  case  for  a 
long  time.  I  began  to  think  that  the  old  animosities 
and  scandal  had  been  absorbed  in  the  precious 
revival  tide  that  seemed  about  to  sweep  over  the 
city.  It  looked  as  if  we  should  have  a  free  coast 
and  a  fair  breeze.  But  in  this  we  were  sadly  mis 
taken.  The  time  we  had  set  for  deciding  the 
question  of  the  call  had  come,  and  that  right  in  the 
bloom  of  the  revival  interest.  So  by  the  earnest 
solicitation  of  friends  we  gave  an  affirmative  answer, 
and  in  April  went  East  for  my  family,  Rev.  N.  F. 
Ravlin  supplying  the  pulpit.  On  my  return  I  went 
to  work  in  all  good  faith,  supposing  that  everything 


238      FROM   THE    STAGE   COACH   TO   THE   PULPIT. 

was  amicably  settled.  But  as  soon  as  the  ardent 
spirit  that  manifested  itself  in  the  winter  began  to 
subside,  the  old  scandals  were  revived  and  circulated 
with  more  vim  than  ever,  if  possible.  I  thought  it 
my  duty  to  have  some  of  the  common  reports  about 
prominent  members  investigated.  But  others 
thought  the  better  way  was  to  let  it  all  alone,  and 
it  would  cure  itself  in  time.  I  have  not  changed 
my  mind  on  the  subject  since. 

At  a  "packed  meeting,"  the  question  was  agitated 
whether  the  pastor  should  be  sustained  in  his  puri 
fying  process  in  the  church,  and  a  small  majority 
voted  that  the  scandals  should  be  let  alone.  The 
next  evening  I  was  informed  of  the  decision,  and  at 
once  resigned.  A  large  number  of  the  church  were 
dissatisfied,  and  in  a  few  clays  called  for  letters  to 
organize  a  new  church,  to  be  called  the  "Harmony 
Baptist  Church  of  Racine."  It  was  organized  with 
fifty-two  members,  and  procured  a  hall  in  which  to 
worship.  The  Rev.  N.  Barrel  was  chosen  pastor. 

I  was  at  this  time  really  unable  to  preach,  owing 
to  loss  of  voice  occasioned  by  the  lake  winds.  I 
was  advised  by  the  physicians  to  remove  from  the 
lake  shore.  Accordingly  I  went  to  Sparta,  a  small 
village  between  bluffs,  in  the  western  part  of  the 


RACINE.  239 

State.  Here  I  found  a  small  Baptist  church  des 
titute  of  a  pastor',  and  much  depressed  in  spirit. 
The  landlady  at  the  hotel  informed  me  where  one 
of  the  deacons  lived,  and  I  called  on  him.  He 
proved  to  be  an  old  acquaintance  of  mine  from  New 
York.  He  at  once  suggested  the  appointment  of  a 
meeting.  I  tried  to  plead  oft*  on  account  of  my 
health,  but  he  insisted,  and  the  appointment  was 
made.  Without  going  into  all  the  details,  I  staid  in 
Sparta  seven  weeks,  and  preached  every  day  and 
evening !  The  Lord  worked  wonders  in  the  midst 
of  the  people.  I  baptized  eighty-two,  making  a 
clean  sweep  in  some  families — merchants,  mechanics, 
farmers,  aged  and  youth.  I  returned  at  the  end  of 
seven  weeks,  much  improved  by  my  residence  away 
from  the  lake  shore. 

About  this  time,  Mr.  Goble,  the  missionary  to 
Japan,  returned  to  this  country,  and  I  volunteered 
to  assist  him  and  the  Free  Mission  Society  in 
raising  a  fund  for  his  outfit,  that  he  might  return  to 
that  needy  missionary  field.  In  Wisconsin,  and  in 
spite  of  my  feebleness  of  health,  I  raised  nearly 
fifteen  hundred  dollars  ;  and  then  went  to  New  York 
State,  to  present  the  same  cause  to  the  churches. 


24:0      FROM   THE    STAGE    COACH   TO    THE    PULPIT. 


CHAPTEK    XIX. 

RE-SETTLEMENT   AT   WARSAW. 

IN  the  course  of  my  rounds,  I  stopped  at  Warsaw, 
where  I  had  labored  with  such  delightful  harmony 
seventeen  years  before.  As  a  result  of  this  transient 
visit,  the  church  gave  me  a  call  to  re-settle  with 
them  as  pastor.  After  duly  considering  the 
question — for  a  re-settlement  is  a  more  difficult 
question  to  decide  than  a  first  settlement — I 
consented.  This  was  in  1859. 

I  found  the  church  in  an  altogether  different  state 
from  the  one  they  were  in  when  I  left  them  for 
Wheat  land,  in  1844.  But  few  of  the  old  members 
remaine^ ,  and  the  church  was  rent  with  unhappy 
dissensions,  that  had  greatly  weakened  their 
strength  and  disheartened  their  spirit.  Yet  there 
were  a  number  of  old,  staunch  friends  of  the  cause, 
who  were  unmoved  by  the  adverse  influences  about 
them.  All  the  ministers  in  the  Association  had 
been  removed,  either  by  death  or  settlement 


RE-SETTLEMENT   AT   WARSAW.  241 

elsewhere,  except  Rev.  H.  B.  Ewell,  of  Pavilion. 
He  still  "staid  by  the  stuff;"  though  as  pastor  of 
that  church,  but  little  could  be  done,  except  to 
"strengthen  the  things  that  remained." 

The  year  following  was  one  of  alternate  fear  and 
hope.  I  spent  the  winter  in  laboring  with  the 
pastors  at  Wyoming,  at  Elmira,  at  Brockport,  at 
LaGrange.  At  Wyoming,  Brother  A.  A.  Russell 
was  pastor.  This  church  had  often  received  and 
enjoyed  the  Divine  Presence  in  the  salvation  of 
souls.  At  Elmira,  Rev.  E.  F.  Crane  was  pastor; 
at  Brockport,  Brother  E.  Nisbet;  and  at  LaGrange, 
Brother  L.  Brasted. 

In  the  midst  of  these  revival  influences,  the 
mutterings  of  civil  war  were  heard  in  the  distance, 
which  turned  the  attention  of  the  whole  community 
in  a  new  channel.  My  second  pastorate  at  Warsaw 
was  not  long,  and  was  much  broken  into  by  the 
evangelistic  labors  mentioned.  Still,  I  trust 
something  was  done  in  the  year  I  was  with  them 
at  this  time. 


242      FROM   THE   STAGE   COACH   TO   THE   PULPIT, 


CHAPTER  XX. 

LAGRANGE THE  WAR. 

/  I  \HE  church  at  LaGrange  had  invited  me  to 
J-  become  their  pastor,  and  in  April  I  was  settled 
with  them  in  that  capacity.  No  sooner  had  I  got 
fairly  at  work,  than  the  call  of  President  Lincoln 
came  over  the  wires  for  seventy-five  thousand  men 
to  defend  the  country  in  its  hour  of  peril.  I  at 
once  wrote  to  two  sons  we  had  living  in  Minnesota 
to  enlist  in  their  country's  service,  urging  upon 
them  the  importance  of  the  sacrifice,  and  stirring 
their  patriotism  by  reminding  them  of  the  Revolu 
tionary  heroes.  The  younger  son  had  already 
enlisted,  and  was  at  Fort  Snelling  when  the  letter 
reached  him.  The  elder  had  a  family,  and  hesitated 
for  a  time,  but  afterwards  entered  the  service,  and 
was  with  Gen.  Sherman  in  his  march  to  the  sea. 
He  received  a  wound  and  came  home  to  die  shortly 
afterwards,  leaving  a  widow  with  three  little 
children.  I  expected  my  younger  son  had  fallen 


LAGRANGE THE   WAR.  243 

with  the  multitude  of  others  in  the  Bull  Kun 
blunder  and  disaster ;  and,  although  I  was  then  at 
the  somewhat  advanced  age  of  fifty-seven,  I  had 
resolved  to  take  the  place  of  my  fallen  boy,  if  the 
Government  would  accept  my  poor  person.  I 
wrote  to  the  Hon.  Mr.  Rice,  M.  C.  from  Minnesota, 
asking  if  it  was  a  fact  that  my  son  was  killed,  and 
telling  him  my  determination  in  case  he  was.  He 
showed  the  letter  to  some  friend,  and  the  War  Depart 
ment  at  once  sent  me  recruiting  orders  to  raise  a 
company  of  cavalry  in  Wyoming  and  Genesee 
counties.  I  laid  this  proposition  before  the  church 
where  I  had  so  recently  settled.  They  gave  their 
consent  with  a  hearty  good  will,  voting  to  let  my 
family  remain  in  the  parsonage  and  to  furnish  them 
with  a  living  the  remainder  of  the  year.  Twenty- 
seven  in  the  community  enlisted  in  one  week,  many 
of  them  my  own  members  and  personal  friends ;  and 
in  fifteen  days  I  had  enrolled  over  three  hundred. 

We  went  into  camp  at  Westfield,  where  the 
regiment  was  completed  and  afterwards  mustered 
into  the  service.  My  men  were  divided  up  into 
one  full  company,  of  which  I  was  elected  captain, 
and  part  of  two  companies,  of  one  of  which  W.  O. 
Bentley  was  elected  captain,  and  the  rest  went  into 


244      FROM    THE    STAGE    COACH   TO    THE    PULPIT. 

a  company  of  which  Capt.  Tozer  had  command. 
In  a  few  days  we  were  transferred  to  Washington, 
where  we  went  into  winter  quarters.  On  our  way 
to  the  seat  of  war,  our  regiment  stopped  for  one  or 
two  weeks  in  Albany.  While  there,  Rev.  E.  L. 
Magoon,  D.  D.,  presented  me  with  a  cavalry  sabre, 
supposed  to  be  of  genuine  Damascus  steel,  that 
had  been  in  service  in  Oliver  Cromwell's  day.  Its 
scabbard  had  long  since  been  lost.  It  was  presented 
on  Sabbath  evening  in  the  First  church,  of  which 
he  was  then  pastor.  The  large  audience-room  was 
crowded  in  every  part,  my  company  occupying  the 
front  center  pews.  The  Doctor  made  a  thrilling 
speech,  as  he  very  well  knows  how  to.  I  wish  it 
was  in  print.  The  next  Sunday  evening,  I  made  an 
address  ia  the  Pearl-street  church,  on  the  subject 
of  Bible  Distribution,  at  a  meeting  of  the  A.  and 
F.  B.  Society.  The  Baptists  of  Albany  were 
sound  to  the  core  on  the  war  question. 

We  left  the  next  Tuesday  for  the  front,  having 
received  our  commissions,  uniforms  for  the  men, 
and  for  the  first  time  we  went  into  camp  in  tents  in 
Washington.  To  sleep  on  the  ground  under  canvas, 
to  eat  without  a  table,  made  a  few  hang  then*  lips 
and  look  a  little  watery  about  the  eyes.  It  began 


LAGRANGE THE    WAR.  245 

to  look  a  little  like  war,  and  yet  we  had  not  seen 
blood,  nor  smelt  gunpowder.  This  first  night  in 
Washington  was  an  exception  during  our  stay,  for 
we  soon  had  things  in  comfortable  shape ;  our  tents 
were  pitched  in  order  and  looked  like  a  village  ;  we 
extemporized  tables  and  chairs,  and  had  little  sheet- 
iron  stoves.  Our  provision  was  abundant,  and,  as  a 
general  rule,  good:  beef,  pork,  sugar,  coffee,  tea, 
rice  and  potatoes  twice  a  week,  and  first-class  bread 
all  the  time.  We  were  a  happy  family  of  men  for 
being  away  from  home. 

Our  chaplain  had  not  yet  come,  so  I  occupied  his 
place  by  the  request  of  the  officers  of  the  staff. 
Respect  and  reverence,  at  least  outward,  were 
shown  for  religion  by  officers  and  men.  In  a  mouth 
or  six  weeks  our  chaplain  arrived,  and  I  went  to  his 
tent  at  my  earliest  convenience  to  bid  him  a  hearty 
welcome,  and  to  say  that  I  had  acted  as  volunteer 
chaplain  in  his  absence.  I  found  him  quite  pleasant, 
and  assured  him  that  anything  I  could  do  to  keep 
him  in  his  position  would  be  a  pleasure  for  me. 
The  next  day  was  inspection.  Out  he  came, 
mounted  on  a  fine  horse,  with  his  orderly  carrying 
his  Bible  and  hymn  book.  The  boys  thought  this 
was  preparing  rather  loftily  to  preach  the  Gospel. 


246   FROM  THE  STAGE  COACH  TO  THE  PULPIT. 

Inspection  was  about  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning. 
At  eleven,  the  religious  services  would  occur.  We 
had  a  full  band,  the  most  of  them  being  Christian 
men,  and  had  up  to  this  time  done  honor  to  them 
selves  in  aiding  the  worship.  At  the  time  appointed, 
they  were  in  their  places  and  played  "Old  Hundred" 
in  fine  strains,  and  then  out  came  the  chaplain, 
mounted,  and  with  his  orderly  bringing  his  Bible. 
The  congregation,  rank  and  file,  was  about  four 
hundred,  including  the  colonel,  lieutenant-colonel 
and,  I  think,  all  the  line  officers.  His  text  was, 
"Endure  hardness  as  good  soldiers  of  Jesus  Christ;" 
and  than  gave  the  officers  what  the  boys  called 
"Hail  Columbia;"  expressed  what  he  should  expect 
of  them,  and  what  they  might  expect  of  him.  He 
then  talked  to  the  men  as  though  they  were  a  mean, 
profane  set  of  rowdies,  closing  up  his  introductory 
sermon  by  calling  on  me  to  pray.  I  felt  like  saying  : 
"Good  Lord,  deliver  us!"  but  I  didn't,  out  loud. 
The  colonel  in  going  to  his  quarters,  said  :  "Well,  if 
ever  I  hear  him  again,  it  will  be  because  he  can  run 
faster  than  I  can."  The  next  Sabbath  was  a  fine  day, 
and  all  at  service,  of  rank  and  file  and  all,  was  about 
eighty;  the  next  Sabbath,  only  fifteen.  This  was 
the  last  gathering  of  the  regiment  to  hear  him.  The 
men  would  not  come  out. 


LAGRAXGE — THE    WAR.  247 

In  March  1862,  we  were  ordered  to  inarch  to 
Yorktowii.  We  left  camp  in  the  midst  of  a  rain 
and  snow  storm.  By  order  of  the  colonel,  I  was 
to  have  command  of  the  camp  and  the  sick  of  the 
regiment,  he  also  leaving  in  my  care  the  commissary 
stores.  We  then  had  about  two  hundred  disabled 
men,  the  measles  having  had  quite  a  march  through 
our  camp.  I  was  ordered  to  muster  out  of  service 
all  disabled  men,  pronounced  unfit  for  service  by 
the  surgeon,  and  to  return  to  the  Department  all 
stores  on  hand.  I  found  I  had  a  job  on  my  hands. 
Every  man  who  had  the  ear-ache  or  a  sore  toe 
wanted  to  go  home.  Some  were  really  sick,  and 
would  be  of  no  service.  Others  were  home-sick, 
and  nothing  could  cure  them  but  the  sight  of 
mother,  wife  or  sweetheart.  So,  we  took  them  in 
squads,  day  after  day,  to  the  War  Department  to  be 
examined,  and  if  really  unfit  for  the  service,  to  be 
discharged.  It  was  amusing,  not  to  say  anything 
else,  to  see  how  lame  some  of  them  were  as  we 
started  for  the  city,  about  two  miles  and-a-half  off. 
Some  of  them  had  provided  themselves  with 
crutches  for  the  occasion,  who  the  day  before  could 
run  and  jump.  If  mustered  out,  they  would  send 
back  their  crutches  to  camp  for  the  next  squad. 


248    FROM  THE  STAGE  COACH  TO  THE  PULPIT. 

In  about  four  weeks  I  was  relieved  of  this 
disagreeable  command,  and  took  such  of  the  number 
as  were  considered  able-bodied,  and  started  for 
Yorktown,  down  the  Potomac.  There  were  many 
amusing  incidents  in  the  mustering-out  business, 
previous  to  our  departure.  In  the  office,  the  mus 
tering-out  officer  was  a  strong  Catholic,  a  Captain 

,  a  most  profane  swearer,  and  always  indulging 

his  profane  tongue.  On  one  or  two  occasions  I  had 
gently  reproved  him,  citing  him  to  the  regulations 
of  the  army  on  the  subject,  being  positively  for 
bidden  by  war-department  law.  During  one  of 
these  little  interviews,  a  gentleman  of  my  acquaint 
ance  came  in  and  addressed  me  as  "Elder  Stimson." 
"Why,"  said  the  captain,  "what  are  you  Elder  of?" 
My  friend  replied,  "He  is  a  minister  of  the  Baptist 
Church,  and  highly  thought  of.  I  have  known  him 
as  such  for  twenty-five  years."  To  which  the  captain 
replied  :  "Oh,  what  a  pity  !  you  ought  to  be  a  good 
Catholic,  and  have  your  sins  pardoned  every  day,  as 
we  do."  "Yes,"  said  I,  "and  then  swear  all  the  rest 
of  the  time,  and  get  drunk  and  fight,  mixing  up  in 
all  the  brawls  in  the  whisky  shops."  He  never  tried 
again  to  convert  me  to  the  "holy  Catholic  Church. 
As  we  were  ready  to  march  to  Yorktown,  a  young 


LAGRANGE — THE   WAR.  249 

Captain  Doolittle,  son  of  Hon.  J.  R.  Doolittle  of 
Wisconsin,  was  standing  with  me  at  the  door  of  the 
mansion  where  we  had  taken  breakfast,  when  his 
father  said  to  him:  "Well,  my  son,  be  faithful  to 
your  duty  and  your  country.  If  you  fall  at  York- 
town,  be  buried  there.  It's  sacred  ground ;  made  so 
by  the  army  of  the  Revolution  and  by  the  presence 
of  Washington  who  defeated  the  British."  Old 
Senator  Preston  King  was  standing  by,  and  with  a 
twinkle  of  the  eye,  said :  "Yes,  Henry,  if  you  find 
yourself  dead,  tell  them  your  father  wanted  you 
buried  there."  This  remark  changed  all  the  faces  of 
the  bystanders. 

This  son  of  Senator  Doolittle  was  a  noble  specimen 
of  a  young  man.  A  graduate  of  a  New  England 
college,  he  had  given  some  attention  to  military 
drill,  and  had  been  commissioned  captain  of  cavalry 
by  President  Lincoln,  by  special  order.  He  had 
just  been  appointed  on  Gen.  Schuyler  Hamilton's 
staff,  and  was  going  down  to  take  his  place.  Gen. 
Hamilton  and  his  staff  were  ordered  to  the  "Army 
of  the  Cumberland,"  where  Capt.  Doolittle  was 
taken  sick,  and  from  which  he  came  home  to  die, 
respected  and  beloved  by  all  who  knew  him. 

While  we  were  encamped  at  Washington,  during 


250       FROM    THE    STAGE    COACH    TO    THE    PULPIT. 

the  winter  of  1861-1862,  the  greater  part  of  our 
time  was  spent  in  drill  in  the  cavalry  tactics.  Our 
colonel  was  detailed  on  a  long  and  difficult  case  of 
court  martial,  so  that  the  command  devolved  on  the 
lieutenant  colonel,  an  ambitious  and  austere  upstart 
who  had  only  a  smattering  of  military  science,  and 
was  very  severely  afflicted  with  the  disease  prevalent 
sometimes  out  of  camp  as  well  as  in,  known  as 
"big-head."  In  his  case  it  assumed  a  malignant 
type.  I  had  been  for  a  long  time  detailed  on 
another  branch  of  duty,  and  had  not  been  as  much 
drilled  in  marching  as  I  thought  I  ought  to  be.  So  I 
got  excused  by  the  colonel  and  went  into  the  drill  of 
marching  with  the  other  officers  of  the  regiment,  under 
the  instruction  of  our  young  lieutenant  colonel, 
who  "magnified"  his  office  as  much  as  ever  a  "onct- 
a-month"  preacher  did  by  "holding  on"  two  mortal 
hours  at  a  time ;  or  ever  a  new-fledged  deacon  did 
by  giving  his  elderly  pastor  advice  as  to  the  best 
method  of  preaching,  showing  him  a  more  excellent 
way.  As  I  came  out  of  my  tent  one  day  to  fall  into 
line,  with  my  cavalry  boots  all  polished  up,  one  of 
the  officers  said,  "Well,  Captain,  you  look  as  nice 
as  a  new  pin — boots  all  shining  and  white  gloves  on. 
The  gloves  may  possibly  come  back  all  right,  but 


LAGKANGE — THE   WAK.  251 


those  boots  won't,  after  Lieut.  H nas  marched 

you  through  a  few  puddles,  as  he  marches  us  every 
day.  I'll  bet  you  will  be  willing  to  make  an  affi 
davit,  when  we  come  back,  that  the  boots  are  made 
of  Maryland  clay,  and  that  you  will  never  put  them 
on  again."  Our  parade  ground  was  ornamented 
with  a  number  of  little  sink  holes.  I  replied, 
"Perhaps  he  will  march  me  through  mud  holes,  but 
I  think  not,  if  I  can  get  around  them,  and  I  think 
I  can.  On  we  went  to  the  parade  ground,  marching 
and  counter-marching  for  an  hour  or  two.  Finally 
we  were  all  formed  into  line  in  the  form  of  a  pla 
toon,  and  after  "front  dress,"  "guide  right,"  the 
command  came,  "march."  After  we  had  marched 
twenty  or  thirty  rods,  I  saw  right  in  front  of  me, 
one  of  those  puddles.  I  said  to  the  captain  at  my 
side,  "File  to  your  left  when  we  get  to  that  mud- 
hole."  When  we  came  to  it  we  filed  off  to  right 
and  left.  Just  as  we  were  in  this  harmless  act  of  self- 
defense — at  least  boot  defense — the  lieutenant  saw 
us  being  a  little  out  of  order,  and  cried  out,  "Steady, 
steady,  there  !  Close  up,  close  up  !  What  kind  of 
a  movement  is  that?"  Our  line  was  again  soon 
formed,  and  on  we  marched  to  our  quarters.  We 
were  halted  at  his  tent  and  formed  into  a  semi-circle, 


252       FROM    THE    STAGE    COACH   TO    THE    PULPIT. 

as  was  his  formal  custom,  to  be  dismissed,  when  he 
complimented  the  officers  for  the  improvement  they 
were  making  in  marching.  He  also  added,  "As  to 
Captain  Stimson,  if  at  any  time  he  comes  to  a  mud- 
hole  and  thinks  he  can't  go  through  it,  if  he  will 
just  speak  to  me,  I  will  take  him  on  my  back  and 
carry  him  over."  I  doffed  my  hat  and  said,  smiling, 
"Thank  you,  Lieutenant  Colonel,  I  have  one  objec 
tion  to  that.  We  were  promised  horses  to  ride,  when 
we  enlisted,  and  I  should  be  ashamed  to  be  seen 
mounted  on  a  jackass."  All  the  officers  threw  up 
their  caps  and  cheered  most  lustily  for  the  "old 
captain."  Did  I  say  all  the  officers?  I  think  the 
lieutenant  did  not.  In  1869  I  met  the  colonel  in 
Troy,  New  York.  After  making  a  few  customary 
inquiries,  and  finding  that  I  was  then  living  in 
Kansas,  he  asked,  "Do  you  ride  a  jackass  out  in 
that  country?"  I  replied,  "Not  much." 

But  to  return  to  our  embarking  at  Washington 
for  Yorktown.  We  embarked  at  Alexandria  on 
board  the  old  "North  River"  boat  the  "Knicker 
bocker."  It  was  crowded  to  its  utmost  capacity. 
We  stopped  opposite  Mount  Vernon,  and  had  an 
opportunity  to  visit  the  tomb  of  Washington.  The 
next  morning  we  found  ourselves  at  anchor  at  a 


LAGRANGE — THE   WAR.  253 

place  called  Saint  Mary's,  the  wind  blowing  a  gale. 
The  commander  of  the  boat  dare  not  enter  Chesa 
peake  Bay  at  the.  time,  as  the  vessel  was  not  equal 
to  a  heavy  sea.  So  we  practiced  patience  forty- 
eight  hours,  waiting  for  the  wind  to  go  down.  The 
first  day  passed  pleasantly  enough,  especially  as  the 
colored  people  brought  fresh  plump  oysters  aboard 
and  sold  them  for  twenty-five  cents  a  bushel.  But 
the  next  day  the  bread  and  butter  part  of  our 
rations  was  almost  minus.  The  darkies  did  the 
best  they  could  to  relieve  our  wants  by  peddling 
"hoe  cakes."  But  cold  "hoe  cakes"  and  no  butter 
were  hardly  atoned  for  by  oysters  at  twenty-five 
cents  a  bushel.  The  decks  and  walks  of  that  old 
boat  were  covered  from  stem  to  stern  with  oyster 
shells,  and  still  we  were  not  satisfied.  The  Captain 
was  better  contented,  as  the  Government  was  paying 
him  seven  hundred  dollars  a  day  for  his  boat.  He 
looked  as  though  he  didn't  care  how  long  we  lay 
there.  It's  astonishing  how  patient  some  men  are, 
and  also  what  an  intimate  connection  there  is 
between  money  and  the  exercise  of  this  virtue  of 
patience !  Job  is  certainly  deserving  of  the  dis 
tinction  of  the  "patientest  man,"  in  view  of  the 
sudden  loss  of  his  great  property.  It's  a  crowning 


254       FROM   THE    STAGE    COACH    TO   THE   PULPIT. 

virtue  to  "take  joyfully  the  spoiling  of  our  goods." 
This  loss  tests  the  nerves  that  connect  with  patience, 
sooner  than  does  the  loss  of  friends.  Poor  people, 
who  have  conquered  themselves  so  as  to  be  habit 
ually  patient,  have  attained  to  the  distinction  of 
sainthood  in  the  true  sense. 

On  this  trip,  no  one  officer  had  command  of  all 
the  men.  They  were  in  squads  of  from  twenty  to 
one  hundred.  Some  were  new  recruits  from  New 
York  and  Brooklyn,  and  belonged  to  the  class  of 
"hard  cases"  in  a  metropolitan  sense.  A  young 
man  in  command  of  them  would  have  about  as 
much  control  over  them  as  a  child  would  have  in 
conducting  a  tribe  of  Comanche  Indians  on  a  buffalo 
hunt.  Sunday  morning  came  and  found  us  in  this 
sad  plight :  card  playing,  the  singing  of  vulgar 
songs,  dancing,  swearing — everything  that  was 
disgraceful  and  mean  in  the  eyes  of  an  American 
citizen.  The  few  officers  there  were  of  us  called  a 
meeting  in  a  side  place,  and  proposed  to  have  order 
on  board  in  some  shape.  It  was  then  proposed  to 
appoint  an  officer  of  the  day,  whose  duty  it  should 
be  to  see  that  things  were  set  to  rights  and  order 
restored.  A  suggestion  was  also  made  to  have 
religious  services  at  eleven  o'clock.  Captain 


LAGRANGE — THE    WAB.  255 

H.  Doolittle  was  appointed  "officer  of  the  day,"  with 
two  assistants  ;  and  we  agreed  to  sustain  the  captain 
in  his  command.  The  captain  put  on  the  red  sash 
prescribed  in  the  army  regulations,  and  putting  on 
his  sword  walked  out  on  the  deck,  and  in  a  loud 
and  commanding  voice  said  :  "Attention,  soldiers  !" 
All  eyes  were  turned  to  see  where  the  voice  came 
from  and  who  it  was  who  spoke  with  accustomed 
authority.  "It  is  ordered  and  commanded  that  all 
loud  talking  and  all  playing  now  cease,  and  that  this 
boat  now  be  cleaned  up.  At  eleven  o'clock  we  will 
have  chapel  services  conducted  by  Captain  H.  K. 
Stimson,  of  the  Ninth  New  York  Cavalry ;  and  for 
this  purpose,  I  appoint  Lieutenant  F.  and  Lieutenant 
B.  to  take  charge  of  the  upper  deck,  and  Captain  M. 
and  Sergeant  V.  to  take  command  of  the  cabin. 
These  officers  will  detail  a  force  sufficient  to  see  this 
order  carried  out."  The  appointment  of  these 
subordinate  officers  was  all  arranged  beforehand, 
they  being  present  at  the  council  meeting  in  the 
corner.  Soon,  men  were  busy  at  work  clearing  up 
the  ship,  and  Captain  Doolittle  walked  the  deck  and 
through  the  cabin  with  as  much  dignity  as  General 
Winfield  Scott.  A  few  of  the  New  York  roughs 
attempted  to  let  off  some  of  tbeir  extra  steam  by 


256       FROM    THE    STAGE    COACH    TO    THE    PULPIT. 

making  a  noise,  but  a  prompt  intimation  from  Captain 
Doolittle  that  the  first  man  who  disobeyed  the  order 
would  be  put  in  irons,  made  them  as  still  as  mice. 
At  eleven  o'clock,  as  many  as  wished  came  into  the 
main  cabin,  and  I  talked  to  them  a  little  while  from 
the  words,  "Contend  earnestly  for  the  faith  once 
delivered  to  the  saints."  The  day  passed  off  with 
less  turmoil  than  we  had  anticipated  in  the  morning. 
When  we  got  to  "Shipping  Point,"  where  we 
disembarked,  the  green  lieutenant  from  Brooklyn 
was  much  disturbed  when  he  found  out  about  the 
authority  we  had  been  assuming  for  the  sake  of 
order  on  board  the  boat.  But  it  was  too  late  to 
make  any  fuss  about  it.  We  justified  ourselves  on 
the  ground  of  military  necessity !  The  next 
Tuesday,  we  joined  our  several  commands  at 
Yorktown. 

After  we  landed  at  "Shipping  Point,"  we  were 
invited  on  board  the  "K.  S.  Spaulding,"  an  iron 
Government  steamer,  the  head-quarters  of  Gen. 
Slocum.  Here  we  remained  two  days,  waiting  for 
an  escort  to  protect  us  in  marching  to  the  Union 
army,  as  the  rebel  scouts  infested  the  wilderness 
between  this  landing  and  Yorktown.  While  staying 
here,  I  had  a  good  chance  of  seeing  the  workings 


LAGRANGE THE    WAR.  257 

of  the  war  system.  Professing  to  have  some 
regard  to  honesty  and  fair  dealing,  I  was  not  a 
little  shocked  at  some  things  I  witnessed. 

Near  by  where  we  lay  at  anchor,  was  a  cove  made 
from  the  river,  in  which  was  a  large  bed  of  oysters, 
containing  about  four  acres,  owned  by  a  rebel 
farmer,  the  main  source  of  his  support  for  a 
numerous  family.  Our  troops  had  waded  into  the 
water,  and  by  feeling  with  the  bare  feet,  had  robbed 
the  poor  rebel  of  all  his  oysters  next  to  the  shore ; 
and  when  these  were  all  exhausted,  had  gone  to  the 
old  man,  hearing  that  he  had  two  or  three  oyster 
boats  hid  away  in  his  garret,  and  proposed  to  buy 
them  at  a  very  high  price.  The  purchase  money 
was  some  counterfeit  rebel  currency  that  a  Yankee, 
indeed,  had  manufactured  for  such  emergencies,  and 
which  could  be  bought  at  wholesale  for  about 
twenty-five  cents  a  ten-dollar  bill.  It  was  well 
executed,  and  none  but  an  expert  could  tell  the 
difference  between  the  two  counterfeits — the  coun 
terfeit  proper  and  the  "counterfeit"  of  which  this 
was  a  counterfeit.  There  was  quite  a  trade  carried 
on  by  way  of  disposing  of  this  false  scrip.  With 
this  worthless  imitation  of  a  worthless  currency, 
the  poor  farmer  was  paid  for  his  boats.  In  these, 


258      FROM    THE    STAGE    COACH    TO    THE    PULPIT. 

the  soldiers  launched  out  into  the  deep  portions 
of  the  cove,  and  "hooked"  all  the  rest  of  the 
oysters,  stripping  the  old  man  of  all  his  dependence 
for  a  living,  and  robbing  him  of  his  boats  besides. 
We  called  at  his  house  and  heard  his  story,  and 
saw  the  counterfeit  currency  with  which  he  had 
been  plundered.  It  was  sad  to  sit  and  listen  to 
his  tale  of  sorrow.  His  wife  was  from  one  of 
the  "F.  F.  V.'s,"  and  was  wrought  up  to  good 
fighting  condition  while  the  old  gentleman  related 
the  facts  of  the  swindle  and  pillage.  She  wished 
all  sorts  of  ills  on  the  "confounded  Yankees." 
If  she  had  the  power,  she  would  "poison  the 
whole  race  of  them,  and  let  them  lie  on  top  of  the 
ground  to  feed  the  turkey  buzzards."  I  said  I 
hoped  she  wouldn't  do  it.  That  this  act  was 
contrary  to  General  McClellan's  order  I  assured  her ; 
and  that  they  ought  to  have  taken  a  receipt  for 
the  oysters,  and  at  some  future  day  the  United 
States  Government  would  have  paid  the  bill. 
This  so  exasperated  the  old  lady,  that  I  acted  at 
once  on  the  maxim  that  prudence  is  the  better 
part  of  valor,  and  left  the  house,  bidding  them 
good-day.  We  found  that  that  system  of  "pro 
tection"  did  not  work  to  suit  the  rebels,  or  to 


LAGRANGE — THE   WAR.  259 

the    securing    of    obedience    on   the    part    of   the 
federal  army. 

We  had  a  similar  case  at  Yorktown,  within  two 
miles  of  Gen.  McClellan's  head-quarters.  Near 
our  camp  was  the  large  plantation  of  an  old 
Virginia  gentleman,  who  owned  some  twenty-five 
slaves,  all  connected  by  blood  or  marriage.  The 
old  man  was  a  staunch  Confederate,  and  had  two 
sons  in  the  Southern  service  as  officers.  Being 
only  three  miles  from  Yorktown,  he  had  applied 
for  protection  from  "vandalism"  by  our  men.  A 
guard  was  detailed  every  day  for  that  purpose, 
consisting  of  six  men.  The  thing  was  looked  upon 
as  a  very  desirable  duty  on  the  part  of  the  soldiers. 
So  that,  at  nine  o'clock  in  the  morning,  when  the 
detail  left  for  the  plantation,  there  was  quite  a 
strife  to  see  who  should  be  selected.  I  had  a 
boy  who  acted  as  cook  and  table  waiter.  When 
it  came  my  turn  to  be  officer  of  the  day,  he  came 
and  said  he  desired  to  be  detailed  to  serve  on  the 
guard  at  the  plantation.  I  consented,  and  Orderly 
Sergeant  Strong  so  appointed  him.  As  he  was 
leaving  for  his  post,  I  asked  him  why  he  wished 
to  be  appointed  to  go  and  stay  there  twenty-four 
hours.  "Well,  Captain,  we  can  get  hoe  cake  and 


260   FROM  THE  STAGE  COACH  TO  THE  PULPIT. 

milk  and  other  nice  things  there,  and  then  we  can 
instruct  them  darkies  in  some  useful  lessons  for 
their  benefit."  He  at  once  fell  into  line  and 
marched  off. 

The  next  morning,  the  old  planter  came  into 
camp  with  a  sorry  face,  and  made  complaint  to  the 
colonel  that  eight  of  his  slaves  had  run  away  the 
night  before ;  and  he  wanted  the  colonel  to  order  a 
larger  guard  for  that  day.  It  so  happened  that 
our  colonel  did  not  think  very  highly  of  "abolition." 
He  did  not  come  into  the  army  to  fight  for  "niggers," 
but  for  the  "Constitution."  But  he  was  willing  to 
fight  for  the  "niggers"  in  the  sense  of  their  appre 
hension  and  return  to  slave-owners.  So,  he  ordered 
the  guard  doubled.  But  the  next  day,  back  came 
the  old  planter,  with  the  complaint  that  nine  more 
of  his  "chattels"  had  departed,  leaving  only  an  old 
man  and  woman,  the  parents  and  grandparents  of 
six  little  children,  on  his  hands  to  be  supported. 
The  colonel  heard  his  doleful  complaint,  and  sent 
for  me.  As  I  came  into  his  tent,  he  said  :  "Captain, 
what  does  this  mean?  This  gentleman  says  his 
servants  have  run  away.  Do  you  know  anything 
about  it?"  I  replied:  "I  am  not  officer  of  the 
day.  I  was  yesterday.  How  should  I  know 


LAGKANGE — THE    WAK.  261 

anything  about  it?"  The  colonel,  turning  to  the 
planter,  said :  "Well,  old  man,  we  can't  keep 
niggers  from  running  away,  as  long  as  General 
Wool  is  harboring  them  at  Fortress  Monroe. 

the    black    cusses :    the    sooner    you   are  rid 

of  them,  the  better  it  will  be  for  you."  "Oh,  no  !" 
said  the  planter;  "they  are  my  main  dependence. 
Who  can  ever  do  our  labor  for  us?"  "Set  your 
rebel  sons  at  work.  It  will  do  them  good,  and  be 
much  better  for  them  than  to  be  in  the  fort  at 

Yorktown     in     this    rebellion."       The     old 

"F.  F.  V."  planter  left  the  camp  without  saying, 
"Good  morning,  sir."  The  colonel  ordered  the 
officer  of  the  day  to  recall  the  guard,  and  let  the 
"rebs"  take  care  of  themselves  and  their  "niggers." 
It  remains  to  be  said  that,  in  less  than  eight-and- 
forty  hours  the  old  man's  barn  couldn't  boast  a 
board  or  his  fence  a  picket.  And  it  was  said  by 
the  boys,  that  his  hen-roost  was  as  silent  as  a 
graveyard.  This  closed  up  our  guarding  of  rebel 
property. 

The  whole  talk  was  that  a  great  and  terrible  fight 
was  about  to  come  off,  and  that  at  least  30,000  lives 
must  be  sacrificed  on  our  side,  not  to  speak  of  the 
rebel  loss.  The  wide  circulation  and  deepening  of 


262      FROM   THE    STAGE    COACH   TO   THE    PULPIT 

this  horrible  expectation,  and  the  prevalence  of 
typhoid  fever,  which  was  carrying  off  the  men 
by  hundreds  and  thousands,  had  then  a  most 
depressing  effect  on  the  courage  of  our  troops. 
Everything  looked  dark  and  threatening  to  them. 

General  McClellan  was  the  "Napoleon,"  the  chief 
captain  of  the  American  army.  To  lisp  a  word 
against  McClellan,  was  a  high  crime  and  misde 
meanor.  The  officer  who  dared  breathe  a  breath  of 
suspicion  that  he  was  not  the  greatest  of  generals, 
was  ordered  to  report  at  the  War  Department  at 
Washington,  as  was  the  case  with  Gen.  Hamilton, 
and  others.  This  idolization  of  Gen.  McClellan,  for 
a  time  was  an  American  mama,  and  will  form  an 
interesting,  as  well  as  sad  chapter  in  the  future 
reliable  history  of  the  great  conflict,  that  will  not  be 
written  while  the  generation  of  men  now  living 
remains.  In  our  opinion,  he  attained  a  greater  and 
more  sudden  reputation,  and  on  a  smaller  capital, 
than  any  other  man  ever  has  on  the  American  conti 
nent.  The  point  of  space  he  will  occupy  on  the 
page  of  permanent  history  will  be  exceedingly  fine. 

The  order  was  for  us  to  keep  at  work  building 
causeways,  so  as  to  make  an  easy  way  for  retreat,  in 
case  of  battle.  Thus  things  went  on  fora  long  time, 


LAGKANGE — THE   WAR.  263 

till  one  day  Mr.  Lowe  went  up  in  his  balloon,  accom 
panied  with  Gen.  Stoneman,  to  take  an  observation 
of  the  fort  at  Yorktown.  They  had  ascended  about 
five  hundred  feet,  when  the  rebels  threw  a  small 
shell  in  nearly  a  line  shot  at  the  balloon,  bursting 
within  a  short  distance  of  it.  This  was  on  Friday, 
about  four  o'clock,  p.  M.  Sunday  morning  at  sun 
rise,  the  news  was  in  circulation  that  Gen.  Magruder 
was  vacating  the  fort  at  Yorktown,  and  all  must  be 
in  preparation  for  marching  orders  at  the  shortest 
notice.  We  need  not  detain  the  reader  in  describing 
what  followed.  Two  days  afterwards,  a  part  of  Joe 
Johnson's  division  of  the  rebel  forces  were  overtaken 
at  Williamsburgh,  Va.,  and  another  small  conflict 
occurred  at  West  Point.  These  were  only  preludes 
to  the  great  "Retreat"  of  McClellan  to  Harrison's 
Lauding ;  a  military  maneuver  that  well  entitles  its 
author  to  the  distinction  of  the  "Great  Retreater." 
If  he  had  only  turned  "right  about  face,"  and  made 
provision  as  rapidly  for  backing  down  into  the  rebel 
country,  he  might  have  anticipated  Sherman  in  his 
march  to  the  sea,  by  at  least  two  years.  He  never 
ought  to  have  fought  with  his  face  to  the  enemy. 
Those  in  front  of  him  had  nothing  to  fear.  He  was 

O 

dangerous   only  to  those  in  his  rear,  as  the  Union 


264   FROM  THE  STAGE  COACH  TO  THE  PULPIT. 

cause  can  abundantly  testify.  What  a  pity  that  the 
Government  did  not  understand  his  tactics,  and  insist 
on  his  setting  out  on  a  march  to  the  North  !  But 
then  it's  the  fate  of  great  men  to  be  misunderstood. 
Where  is  General  George  B.  McClellan? 

The  fact  was  that  the  Ninth  New  York  Calvary 
had  not,  up  to  this  time,  been  fully  mounted  or 
equipped.  An  effort  had  been  made  the  winter 
previous  to  disorganize  all  the  mounted  troops  in  the 
army.  Senator  Nesmith,  of  California,  had  made  a 
long  and  discouraging  speech  ou  mounted  soldiers, 
including  more  ridicule  than  argument.  Senator 
Sprague  of  Rhode  Island,  wanted  a  larger  amount  of 
artillery.  These  mere  politicians  desired  to  give 
shape  to  the  warfare  according  to  their  "parlor" 
ideas.  As  though  they  knew  anything  of  how  the 
campaign  ought  to  be  waged!  That  our  cause 
succeeded  in  spite  of  such  advocates  and  some  such 
generals,  is  a  proof  beyond  qttestiou  that  it  was  on 
the  side  of  humanity  and  right.  The  leading,  prac 
tical  men  wanted  a  larger  force  of  mounted  soldiers. 

But  at  this  early  day  of  the  war,  politicians  not 
only  constantly  interfered  with,  but  positively 
controlled  the  military  movements  of  the  men  who 
were  tiredly  waiting  to  redeem  their  country  from 


LAGRANGE THE  WAR.  265 

its  tbralldom.  It  was  not  a  little  amusing,  as  well 
as  a  good  deal  provoking,  to  sit  in  the  galleries  of 
the  Senate  and  see  what  strategy  and  prowess  these 
brave  political  heroes  evinced,  and  with  what  dis 
patch  they  were  going  to  subdue  the  rebellion  and 
make  ff  secession"  bite  the  dust.  It  often  made  me 
think  of  that  brave  command  that  "marched  up  the 
hill,  and  then  marched  down  again."  These  would- 
be  "leaders"  had  more  to  do  with  keeping  the  cavalry 
from  being  mounted,  and  with  depriving  the  country 
for  a  long  time  of  the  valuable  aid  this  important  arm 
of  the  service  could  render,  than  all  other  persons 
and  causes  put  together.  Of  course  they  had  in  the 
field  certain  officers  who  were  their  tools.  Thus  the 
military  field  and  the  political  field  were  co-operative 
in  a  very  ridiculous,  if  it  were  not  so  sad  a  sense. 
The  purpose  of  some  of  these  "loyal"  men  may  be 
discovered  yet,  now  that  the  discovery  will  do  no 
good. 

Efforts  were  continually  made  to  induce  the 
cavalry  regiment  to  disband  and  enter  the  infantry 
service.  I  knew  of  one  fine  cavalry  regiment,  the 
Seventh  New  York,  called  the  "Black  Horse  Cavalry," 
from  Troy,  that  was  disbanded  at  the  beginning  of 
the  war.  But  our  men  disdained  to  be  disbanded, 


266   FROM  THE  STAGE  COACH  TO  THE  PULPIT. 

and  insisted  on  being  mounted  and  equipped.  They 
found  out  that  they  could  not  be  forced  into  any 
other  arm  of  the  service  against  their  will.  Another 
fact  most  patent  and  injurious  in  its  influence  on  the 
spirits  and  discipline  of  the  men,  was  the  compar 
ative  ignorance  of  both  the  colonel  and  lieutenant- 
colonel,  of  cavalry  tactics.  They  cut  a  ridiculous 
figure  on  horseback.  Of  course  they  owed  their 
promotions  to  political  wire-pulling.  So,  when  we 
went  down  to  Yorktown,  our  men  consented  to  be 
armed  with  Austrian  rifles  and  go  as  an  escort  to 
Gen.  Hunter's  park  of  artillery.  When  we  arrived 
at  Yorktowu,  the  men  concluded  that  they  had 
finished  their  mission  as  an  escort.,  and  laid  down 
their  arms,  fully  resolved  not  to  take  them  up,  but 
to  hold  themselves  ready  any  moment  to  be  mounted 
and  equipped  as  cavalry.  In  this  condition  of  things 
they  remained  at  Yorktown  without  drill,  the 
most  of  the  staff  officers  using  all  their  influence  and 
intrigue  to  induce  the  men  to  be  transferred  to  the 
infantry. 

At  this  juncture,  I  was  sent  to  Baltimore  with  the 
wounded  and  prisoners  from  the  battle  of  Williams- 
burgh,  with  liberty  to  go  to  Washington  on  a  sick 
leave  of  absence  for  two  weeks.  It  was  also  sug- 


LAGRANGE THE    WAR.  267 

gested  by  all  the  line  officers  and  a  few  of  the  staff, 
that   while   in  Washington  I  should  see  Secretary 
Stanton  about  our  regiment,  if  something  couldn't  be 
done  to  relieve  us  of  the  embarrassment  in  which 
we  found  ourselves  in  consequence  of  the  deadening 
delay.     After  disposing  of  the  wounded  and  pris 
oners  at  Baltimore,  I  hastened  to  Washington.     On 
reaching  the  War  Department,  Mr.  Stanton  informed 
me  that  at  General  McClellan's  request,   the  Ninth 
New  York  Cavalry  were  ordered  to  Albany  to  be 
mustered  out  of  service  for  insubordination  !     I  was 
surprised,    mortified,     indignant,     and    righteously 
wrathy.     I  denied    the    charge   then  and   there    as 
utterly  false.     I  told  the  honorable   Secretary  that 
the  Ninth  regiment  was  made  up  of  the  best  class  of 
volunteers  the    State   of    New   York   could  boast. 
And  I  added,  "If  the  country  and  its  officials  think 
we  are  not  needed,  we  can  well  afford  to  go  home. 
But  if  it  is  on  the  charge  of  insubordination  that  we 
are  relieved,  we   can  never  go  home  to  look  in  the. 
face  our  wives,  our  children  and  our  fellow-citizens. 
We  enlisted  as  cavalry,  and  as  such,  we  are  willing 
to  remain  in  the  service  of  the   Government,   and 
"fight  it  out  to  the  bitter  end,"  but  we  do  protest 
against  being  transferred  into  the  infantry,  and  thus 
break  up  our  organization  as  cavalry." 


268       FROM   THE    STAGE    COACH   TO   THE    PULPIT. 

"Well,  Captain  Sliuison,  you  better  go  to  Albany 
and  see  Governor  E.  D.  Morgan.  I  will  give  you 
leave  of  absence,  and  a  pass  to  Albany.  If  you 
start  this  evening,  you  can  reach  Albany  to-morrow 
by  noon."  "Thank  you,  Mr.  Secretary."  He 
ordered  my  pass  made  out,  and  I  called  on  two  of 
our  members  of  Congress,  Hon.  A.  Frank  and 
Hon.  K.  E.  Fenton,  who  gave  me  letters  of  intro 
duction  to  Governor  Morgan.  The  next  day  at 
ten  o'clock  A.  M.,  I  was  in  Albany  and  obtained  an 
introduction  to  the  Governor  personally  by  an  old 
friend,  George  Dawson,  editor  of  the  Evening 
Journal.  I  presented  my  pass  and  leave  of  absence, 
and  at  once  made  known  the  object  of  my  business. 
He  appeared  as  much  surprised  as  I  was  on  hearing 
it,  and  said,  "I  will  telegraph  at  once  to  Mr.  Lincoln. 
You  call  to-morrow  morning  at  eleven  and  I  will  let 
you  know  the  result."  At  the  appointed  hour  I 
was  admitted  to  the  Governor's  room,  when  he  read 
me  a  copy  of  his  telegram  to  Mr.  Lincoln.  It  was 
as  follows  : 

"Mr.  Lincoln,  President  of  the  United  States: 

"  SIR  :  I  am  informed  by  an  officer  of  the  Ninth 
regiment  of  New  York  cavalry  that  an  order  has 


LAGRANGE THE    WAR.  269 

been  issued  by  the  War  Department  to  muster  out  of 
the  service  said  regiment.  I  hope  and  earnestly 
request  that  said  order  may  be  countermanded,  and 
if  the  Government  cannot  mount  and  equip  said 
troops,  call  on  the  State  of  New  York,  through  its 
proper  executive,  and  it  shall  be  done. 

(Signed),  E.  D.  MORGAN, 

Governor  of  New  York." 

Mr.  Lincoln  replied  by  telegram : 

"JE.    D.  Morgan,  Governor  of   the   State  of  New 

York: 

"SiR  :  The  order  to  muster  out  the  Ninth  regiment 
of  New  York  cavalry  is  countermanded,  and  the 
regiment  will  be  here  soon,  to  be  equipped  and 
mounted  at  the  earliest  possible  moment. 

(Signed),  A.  LINCOLN." 

Characteristic.  No  red  tape.  Direct.  Inde 
pendent.  Eminently  sensible.  Hearty.  Lincoln 
had  a  clear  head ;  but  he  had  also  what,  in  the  old 
Bible  language,  is  called  "bowels,"  a  quality  just  as 
important  as  judgment,  or  justice.  He  was  no 
petrified  piece  of  last  century's  wisdom,  having  no 
interest  in  "personal  matters,"  as  Sumner  once 
imperiously  said  of  himself.  Lincoln  had  a  per 
sonal  interest  in  "personal  matters,"  and  did  not 


270      FROM   THE    STAGE   COACH   TO   THE   PULPIT. 

try  to  put  himself  above  the  Almighty,  who  cer 
tainly  interests  Himself  in  "personal  matters." 

My  health  at  this  time  was  much  impaired, 
having  had  an  attack  of  the  typhoid  fever  while  at 
Yorktown ;  and  having  a  leave  of  absence  of  six 
weeks  from  duty,  from  the  Secretary  of  War,  I 
went  home  to  see  my  family,  then  residing  at 
LaGrange,  New  York.  It  was  evident  to  my 
physician,  at  the  end  of  my  furlough,  that  I  was 
not  fit  for  active  service.  So  he  sent  on  to  the 
Department  a  certificate  of  the  facts,  and  I  was 
granted  a  leave  of  absence  for  an  indefinite  time. 
Soon  after  this  I  was  taken  worse,  and  so  continued 
for  the  next  eighteen  months.  During  the  time,  I 
suffered ^a  shock  of  paralysis  in  my  entire  right  side, 
so  disabling  me  as  to  prostrate  my  energies  for  the 
next  two  years,  not  permitting  me  to  leave  my 
house  for  that  length  of  time,  with  one  exception, 
and  that  to  vote.  I  was  taken  in  a  carriage  on  a 
mattress  to  the  polls,  and  returned  to  my  dwelling 
to  remain  there  all  winter.  The  longest  sickness 
in  all  my  life. 

During  this  confinement  and  severe  suffering, 
a  few  discontented  persons,  who  had  not  been 
personally  enriched  or  honored  by  the  war  as  they 


LAGRANGE THE    WAR.  271 

had  desired,  commenced  a  series  of  mean  acts, 
accompanied  with  meaner  invective  against  me,  the 
whole  amounting  to  the  cruelest  persecution,  being 
at  a  time  when  I  was  wholly  unable  to  defend 
myself  or  rebuke  them.  In  making  up  my 
accounts  in  the  enlistment  of  my  company,  I  had 
intrusted  the  keeping  of  the  books  to  two  men 
who  had  joined  the  company,  who  were  evidently 
prompted  by  the  lofty  purpose  of  enriching  them 
selves  out  of  the  spoils  of  the  war.  It  is  believed 
by  some  that  there  were  other  individuals  of  the 
same  tribe  of  human  jackalls  "in  the  service  of 
their  country."  These  two  men,  in  company  with 
a  hotel-keeper  who  had  quartered  some  of  my  men 
and  the  band  of  musicians  I  had  employed  during 
the  time  of  enlistment,  had  conspired  to  have  me 
indicted  before  the  grand  jury  of  the  United 
States  Court  holding  its  session  at  Buffalo. 

The  deputy  marshal  called  and  made  a  service 
of  the  warrant  on  me.  But  I  was  unable  to  be 
moved,  and  so  let  the  matter  rest.  These  pretended 
patriotic  gentlemen  were  not  well  suited  with  the 
leniency  of  the  marshal  who  had  served  the 
warrant ;  and  so  sent  off  to  a  distant  part  of  the 
State  and  got  their  man,  a  perfect  Nero,  to  do 


272   FROM  THE  STAGE  COACH  TO  THE  PULPIT. 

their  dirty,  cruel  work.  He  came  into  the  place 
and  stopped  at  the  hotel  above  mentioned ;  and 
after  getting  well  whiskyed-up,  he  got  an  old  coop 
of  a  hack,  and  two  rowdy  assistants  to  help  him 
secure  his  prey.  Up  they  came  to  my  residence, 
and  bolted  in  with  all  the  courage  of  grenadiers, 
as  if  to  arrest  some  monster  guilty  of  sedition 
and  murder.  With  great  pomp  and  show  of 
authority,  he  made  known  the  object  of  his  visi 
tation.  I  was  in  bed,  where  I  had  been  for  months. 
I  was  not  dressed,  and  had  not  been  for  a  long  time. 
My  wife  and  children  were  all  amazement  at  this 
strange  manner  of  address  to  a  sick  and,  as  they 
supposed,  dying  husband  and  father.  They  of 
course  knew  not  what  to  say  or  do.  I  politely 
suggested  that  I  would  be  glad  to  send  into  the 
village  for  friends  to  assist  me.  "No,"  he  replied; 
"I  can  give  you  all  the  assistance  you  need.  I  will 
have  you  in  Albany  to-morrow."  My  wife  said : 
"Why,  sir,  the  man  is  not  able  to  be  moved;  he 
has  not  been  out  of  his  room  for  weeks.  I  would 
as  soon  think  of  moving  a  dead  man."  "Can't  help 
it,  madam ;  he  must  go  alive  if  he  can,  and  if  not, 
dead."  So  I  was  dressed  and  hurried  into  his 
rickety  old  hack,  and  driven  to  the  depot. 


LAGKANGE THE   WAK.  273 

At  Batavia,  we  were  obliged  to  wait  three  or 
four  hours  to  make  connection.  The  news  was 
soon  circulated  that  I  was  at  the  depot  under 
arrest  by  the  United  States  Marshal,  and  the 
people  flocked  in  to  see  me  and  proposed  to  become 
bail  for  my  appearance  at  Court.  He  said  he  did 
not  know  what  the  bail  would  be,  and  that  he 
could  not  and  would  not  consent.  Neither  would 
he  allow  me  to  go  to  a  friend's  house,  near  the 
depot,  and  stay  while  we  were  waiting  for  the 
train.  "No,  sir."  A  friend  then  asked  him  if  he 
would  furnish  me  with  a  sleeping-car  berth?  He 
said  he  could  not  do  it.  The  friend  then  handed 
him  the  money  to  pay  for  a  berth,  and  he  took  it  in 
my  presence.  As  soon  as  the  train  arrived,  I  was 
hurried  into  a  crowded  car,  and  seated  with  the 
marshal  and  two  miserable  drunken  rowdies  of  the 
baser  sort.  I  said,  "Marshal,  can't  you  get  me  a 
sleeping-car?"  "When  we  get  to  Eochester,  I  may, 
possibly ;  but  I  can't  now."  It  was  now  past  ten 
o'clock  at  night,  and  I  was  much  exhausted  by 
the  fatigue  of  waiting  so  long  and  the  excitement. 

At  Eochester,  he  secured  the  berth.     The  night 

was   cold,    and   I   suffered    all    the   way   from  the 

\ 

constant  opening    and  shutting  of   the  doors.      A 


274      FliOM    THE    STAGE    COACH    TO    THE    PULPIT. 

little  after  daylight,  we  arrived  at  Albany.  He 
procured  a  carriage,  and  then  asked  me  if  I  would 
like  breakfast  before  he  took  me  to  prison.  "Yes," 
I  replied;  "and  I  have  friends  in  the  city  whom  I 

would  like  to  see."     "Friends!    Who  in  are 

your  friends  here?"  I  replied,  "All  my  friends 
are  not  in  that  bad  place."  "Well,  I  will  take  you 
to  a  hotel  to  get  breakfast,  and  then  we  will  see 
about  friends.'91  We  halted  at  a  low,  third-class 
house,  and  I  was  helped  up  stairs  and  laid  on  a 
sofa.  I  asked  the  porter  to  have  the  clerk  call  up 
where  I  was.  He  soon  came,  and  I  asked  him  to 
write  a  couple  of  short  notes  for  me,  as  I  was 
unable  to  write  for  myself.  He  wrote  the  following : 

"Hon.  George  Dawson: 

"DEAR  SIR  : — I  am  here  at  the Hotel,  under 

an  arrest  by  the  United  States  Marshal.  Will  you 
call  on  me  soon,  and  oblige, 

"Yours  in  bonds, 

H.  K.  STIMSON." 

A  similar  one  was  also  sent  to  Rev.  J.  D.  Fulton, 
D.D.  A  boy  was  dispatched  to  carry  them  to  their 
respective  addresses.  While  I  was  sipping  my  coffee, 
and  attempting  to  swallow  a  little  breakfast  brought 
up  by  a  waiter,  in  came  the  "friends"  addressed. 


LAGKANGE — THE   WAR.  275 

They  both  exclaimed  as  they  entered:  "Why 
Stimson,  what  has  brought  you  here?  we  supposed 
you  were  dead,  or  near  to  it."  I  replied :  "Not 
dead,  and  the  way  I  came  here,  was  by  the  force  of 
the  United  States  Marshal."  At  this  moment  he 
came  in,  and  seeing  Mr.  Dawson  sitting  in  front  of 
me  and  holding  my  hand,  doffed  his  hat  and  stam 
mered  out:  "Good  m-orn-ing,  Mr.  Dawson."  Mr. 
Dawson  at  this  arose  from  his  seat,  and  said  to  the 
marshal :  "Why,  what  in  the  name  of  common  sense 
have  you  brought  this  sick  and  dying  man  here  for? 
I  would  like  to  know."  Mr.  Fulton  began  by  asking 
him  :  "Are  you  human?" 

The  marshal  apologized,  and  appealed  to  me  if 
he  had  not  treated  me  well,  and  like  a  gentleman  ? 
If  he  had  not  secured  a,  sleeping-car  and  a  carriage  ? 
To  which  I  answered  :  "As  to  the  sleeping-car,  a 
friend  of  mine  in  Batavia  gave  you  the  money  with 
which  to  pay  for  it ;  as  to  the  f carriage/  I  wish  these 
gentlemen  could  see  it,  I  think  somebody  in  the  'hen 
business'  would  like  to  have  it."  The  fact  was,  he 
had  secured  his  appointment  through  the  influence 
of  Mr.  Dawson,  and  now  began  to  realize  that  his 
poor,  sick  prisoner  had  friends  away  here  in  Albany 
three  hundred  miles  from  home,  whom  he  wished  he 


276       FROM   THE    STAGE    COACH   TO   THE    PULPIT. 

did  not  know  at  all.  He  became  exceeding  clever  to 
me,  and  would  do  anything  for  me. 

Mr.  Dawson  said  to  him  :  "Well,  go  and  find  out 
what  the  bail  will  be  and  see  that  it  is  forthcoming." 
and  Fulton  said  (how  characteristic)  :  "I  will  take 
him  to  my  house,  and  if  he  isn't  there  when  you 
come,  then  take  myself  and  wife."  He  ordered  a 
carriage,  and  soon  I  was  in  his  pleasant  home,  under 
the  kind,  Christian  nursing  of  his  family.  Soon  a 
physician  was  sent  for,  and  I  was  safely  out  of  the 
protecting  power  of  this  specimen  of  a  human  brute, 
called  a  marshal.  Mr.  Dawson  and  his  partner  in 
business  became  my  bail,  and  after  a  two  weeks'  rest, 
I  was  sent  home  in  company  with  kind  friends  who 
volunteered  their  gratefully  received  services. 

Two  of  the  first  lawyers  in  Western  New  York 
volunteered  to  defend  me — Hon.  L.  W.  Thayer  of 
Warsaw,  and  the  Hon.  Sanford  Church,  of  Albion, 
ex-Lieutenant-Go vernor  of  New  York.  At  the  next 
term  of  the  United  States  Court  at  Rochester,  the 
case  was  called  up.  Mr.  Church  addressed  the 
Court  by  saying,  among  other  similar  things,  that, 
"this  case  was  an  unheard-of  transaction  in  civilized 
prosecution,  legal  or  military."  Hon.  Mr.  Thayer 
followed,  by  characterizing  the  whole  affair,  from 


LAGRANGE THE    WAR.  277 

beginning  to  end,  as  "unworthy  of  the  cognizance 
of  any  Court,"  and  moved  that  the  Court  enter  a 
nolle  prosequi.  The  Court  so  ordered. 

The  two  men  who  had  instituted  these  proceedings 
against  me,  were  men  to  whom  I  had  shown  especial 
favor,  and  had  them  detailed  for  less  severe  service 
than  the  common  soldiers.  Yet  they  were  the  first 
to  stimulate  insubordination,  and  to  embarrass  me  in 
my  control  of  the  company.  They  were  clamorous 
for  their  dis  charge ;  but  I  was  not  able  to  relieve 
them  from  the  obligations  that  they  had  voluntarily 
assumed — hence  their  venom.  One  of  them,  who 
had  acted  as  my  company  clerk,  and  plotted  my  ruin, 
has  since  been  found  guilty  of  forgery.  I  am  not 
able  to  say  what  has  become  of  him.  I  still  live  to 
pity  him,  and  those  that  so  cruelly  conspired  with 
him  against  me. 

Conscious  of  my  innocence,  I  did  not  fear  the 
result ;  yet,  I  was  greatly  distressed  that  I  should  be 
even  charged  with  wrong  doing  ;  and  being  dragged 
away  to  prison  is  not  very  agreeable.  There  was, 
however,  one  pleasant  feature  in  it,  for  it  discovered 
to  me  friends  whose  sympathy  and  friendship  is,  and 
will  be  so  long  as  I  shall  live,  very  sweet  to  me ; 
and  I  want  just  here  to  leave  this  testimony  of  my 


278   FROM  THE  STAGE  COACH  TO  THE  PULPIT. 

gratitude  to  my  comrades  and  brother  officers  in  the 
Ninth  New  York  Cavalry.  Their  letters  came  pour 
ing  in  to  the  officers  of  the  court,  assuring  them  of 
my  innocence,  and  were  of  great  service  to  me. 
Through  it  all  the  Lord  led  me  ;  surely  "He  that  is 
for  me  is  more  than  they  that  be  against  me." 

During  my  long  sickness,  I  had  no  way  of  making 
money,  and  I  soon  consumed  what  I  had.  I  could 
not  relieve  my  mind  of  anxiety  concerning  food  and 
raiment,  the  means  of  providing  which  for  my  family 
I  had  none,  except  what  was  furnished  by  liberal 
friends  of  all  denominations,  added  to  what  little  my 
daughter  could  make  by  teaching  a  small  district 
school.  But  we  did  not  come  to  want.  The  church 
at  LaGrange,  nine  miles  off,  time  and  again  came 
down  in  force,  and  brought  us  supplies  of  provisions 
and  money,  and,  what  was  worth  more  than  these, 
showed  a  deep,  fraternal  love  for  us  which  greatly 
relieved  the  tedium  of  painful  and  protracted  sick 
ness. 


I  have  read  the  manuscript  of  Captain  Stimson,  concerning  his  con 
nection  with  the  Ninth  New  York  Cavalry,  and  the  facts,  as  he  states 
them,  are  known  to  me  to  be  true.  W.  G.  BENTLEY. 

ST.  Louis,  February  7, 1874. 


HO,    FOR    KANSAS  !  279 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

HO,    FOR   KANSAS  ! 

MRS.  STIMSON  had  a  brother  residing  in 
Kansas,  who  solicited  us  to  come  to  this  new 
State,  where  he  thought  there  would  be  more 
advantages  for  our  children  in  the  way  of  securing 
positions  in  life,  than  in  the  older  States.  My 
physician's  advice  to  seek  some  milder  climate  as 
the  last  hope  of  recovery,  had  already  prepared  us 
to  listen  favorably  to  the  Kansas  call — not  church, 
but  individual.  We  had  a  small  place  on  which  we 
were  living,  but  there  was  an  iucuinbrance  on  it 
that  certainly  we  had  no  very  bright  hope  of  ever 
removing,  under  the  circumstances  of  protracted 
illness  and  no  income.  After  weighing  the  pros  and 
cons,  we  concluded  to  join  the  army  of  emigrants 
for  the  far-off  West,  I  expecting  to  find  a  grave  in 
a  short  time  among  strangers.  We  left  New  York 
in  April,  1864.  I  could  not  walk  at  the  time 
without  the  aid  of  crutches. 


280   FROM  THE  STAGE  COACH  TO  THE  PULPIT. 

We  stopped  in  Kinderhook,  Michigan,  to  visit  a 
dear  daughter,  with  whom  we  spent  two  weeks. 
Here  I  attempted  to  preach  for  the  first  time  in 
nearly  two  years.  This  duty,  if  such  it  could  be 
called,  I  discharged  sitting  in  a  chair.  I  could  not 
stand  in  one  position  long  enough  to  read  the  Scrip 
ture.  We  bade  adieu  to  the  dear  ones  in  Michigan, 
and  after  a  long  and  tedious  journey  through 
Missouri — the  war  at  the  time  still  raging  and 
keeping  all  passengers  in  a  state  of  constant  fear — 
we  at  length  arrived  at  Leaven  worth,  where  our 
youngest  son  was  taken  sick,  detaining  us  a  week  at 
the  hotel,  the  landlord  showing  us  the  kindest 
attention.  Here  I  had  my  first  lesson  of  Kansas 
business  matters. 

I  had  found  out  that  there  was  no  way  of  going 
to  the  Neosho  valley  but  by  the  round-about  one  of 
staging  it  to  Topeka,  and  then  across  the  country 
in  a  little  two-horse  hack,  over  a  trackless  prairie  to 
Burlington,  and  at  exorbitant  prices  all  the  way. 
While  we  were  waiting  for  the  recovery  of  the  boy, 
some  one  suggested  that  our  cheapest  way  would 
be  to  purchase  an  outfit  of  our  own ;  that  a  pony 
team  and  a  light  wagon  could  take  us  and  baggage 
with  ease,  and  that  the  concern  would  sell  at  any 


HO,    FOR   KANSAS  !  281 

time  for  about  what  it  cost.  So  I  began  to  look 
about  for  a  bargain  of  the  kind.  While  sitting  in 
the  office  of  the  hotel  one  day,  a  decently  dressed 
young  man  stepped  up  to  me  (wholly  accidental— 
so  many  interesting  things  are  accidental  in  Kansas) 
and  asked  me  if  I  didn't  wish  to  procure  a  team  to 
go  into  the  country?  I  told  him  I  did,  if  I  could 
get  one  at  a  reasonable  price.  He  said  he  had  a 
good  span  of  ponies  and  a  light  wagon,  and  invited 
me  to  go  with  him  to  the  feed  stable  and  see  them. 
So  I  took  my  crutch  and  limped  off  with  him  to  the 
stable,  some  three  or  four  blocks.  He  brought 
them  out  and  hitched  them  to  his  wagon.  I  saw 
that  they  were  larger  and  better  than  the  average^ 
run  of  ponies.  After  we  had  driven  around  town 
for  a  while,  mostly  on  the  back  streets,  I  suggested 
that  he  drive  down  one  of  the  main  business  streets, 
and  to  the  hotel.  He  said  the  "ponies  were  afraid 
of  stages  and  covered  wagons,  not  being  used  to 
them,  and  that  we  had  gone  far  enough  for  me  to 
judge."  "Well,  I  like  their  movement;  what  is 
your  price  for  the  outfit?"  "Well,  I  will  tell  you, 
stranger :  I  am  in  a  hurry  to  go  back  to  Illinois ; 
my  father  is  not  expected  to  live ;  I  will  take  two 
hundred  dollars  for  the  whole  'shebang.'  The 


282      FROM    THE    STAGE    COACH   TO   THE    PULPIT. 

wagon  is  a  little  worn,  but  the  harness  is  new.  I 
paid  forty  dollars  for  it  last  week."  I  saw  it  was 
a  bargain,  and  just  what  I  wanted.  "Well,  young 
man,  you  drive  it  to  the  ' Michigan  House,'  and  I 
will  take  it."  "Stranger,  as  I  have  told  you,  I  don't 
like  to  drive  them  on  the  main  streets ;  they  are  a 
little  skeery"  "Let  me  have  the  reins,  then.  I'll 
risk  them.  I  never  saw  a  horse  yet  I  couldn't 
manage  some  way."  But  he  objected,  and  put  the 
team  in  the  stable,  and  I  hobbled  back  to  the  hotel, 
thinking  what  strange  customs  they  had  in  Leaven- 
worth,  and  what  a  singular  breed  of  ponies. 

He  had  not  forgotten  to  say,  however,  that  he 
would  be  around  in  the  evening  and  close  the  trade, 
if  I  said  so.  I  told  my  landlord  what  a  fine  rig  I 
had  found,  and  that  the  ponies  were  shy  of  the  main 
streets.  He  replied,  "Mr.  Stimson,  you  will  have 
to  be  on  your  guard  against  thieves.  If  that  team 
and  wagon  are  as  you  describe  them,  and  can 
be  had  for  two  hundred  dollars,  you  may  be  sure 
the  fellow  has  not  come  honestly  by  them.  I  will 
go  over  and  look  at  them."  In  less  than  thirty 
minutes  he  came  back,  saying,  "Your  team  has  just 
been  called  for  by  two  men  from  Missouri.  They 
have  been  after  the  fellow  the  last  ten  days.  They 


HO,  FOR  KANSAS!  283 

were  stolen  in  Clay  County,  Missouri.  They  have 
got  the  team,  but  the  thief  is  minus."  The  ponies 
had  got  over  their  front-street  fright.  There  are 
many  plausible  thieves  in  Kansas.  The  climate,  or 
soil,  or  both — or  something — seems  to  promote  this 
quality  of  plausibility  in  all  the  somewhat  numerous 
tribes  of  thieves  in  this  promising,  ambitious  and 
destined  commonwealth.  From  what  high  or  low 
source  they  may  have  caught  the  contagion,  the 
deponent  saith  not.  But  a  smoother  set  of  pioneer 
thieves  never  existed.  They  are  so  smooth  that 
they  can't  be  caught ;  and  if  they  are  caught,  they 
are  so  smooth  they  can't  be  hung.  But,  thank  God, 
they  are  dying  out.  That's  the  only  hope. 

We  took  stage  for  Topeka,  and  after  a  long 
day's  ride,  we  were  set  down  in  that  capital  of  the 
new  commonwealth.  The  next  morning,  at  three 
o'clock,  all  five  of  us  were  crammed  into  the  little 
seven -by -nine  hack,  without  having  had  any 
breakfast.  The  old  rickety  concern,  we  felt,  might 
fly  to  pieces  any  moment.  At  eleven  o'clock,  we 
were  set  down  to  our  breakfast  of  beans  and  flies, 
and  it  was  hard  telling  which  outnumbered  the 
other.  But  we  found  good  fare  where  we  stopped 
for  the  night,  at  least  it  seemed  so  then.  The  next 


284   FROM  THE  STAGE  COACH  TO  THE  PULPIT. 

morning,  we  arrived  at  the  county  seat  of  Coffey 
County,  the  humdrum  of  a  place  we  had  had  such 
glowing  accounts  of,  destined  to  be  a  live,  wealthy, 
business,  manufacturing,  commercial,  literary, 
political  and  religious  center.  Kansas  is  a  very 
prolific  State  in  great  towns.  Cities  germinate  and 
grow,  prospectively  at  least  (a  very  slight  qualifi 
cation),  with  the  utmost  spontaneity  and  rapidity 
on  Kansas  soil.  In  some  instances,  the  wild  grass 
is  not  killed  out  of  the  avenues  before  the  city 
attains  its  greatest  dimensions.  There  is  much  in 
a  name  sometimes,  as  well  as  in  the  soil  and 
climate.  There  are  no  villages  or  towns  in  Kansas. 
The  use  of  the  more  expansive  name  of  "city" 
may  account  in  part  for  the  marvelous  dimensions 
of  some  of  our  places.  This  and  the  broad-gauged 
term  "avenue,"  confer  a  metropolitan  flavor  most 
conducive  to  growth,  prospectively  at  least.  The 
name  "Prairie  City"  may  serve  to  elucidate  our  idea 
to  some  of  our  Kansas  readers. 

I  wish  I  could  describe  my  first  impressions,  and 
those  of  my  family  as  we  peered  out  of  the  woods, 
after  crossing  the  Whistler's  ford.  "There,"  said  the 
stage  driver,  "is  the  town  of  Hampdeu.  That  box 
house  is  where  the  printer  lives,  and  that  is  the  office 
on  the  high  ground ;  and  that  long  low  building  is 


HO,    FOR   KANSAS  !  285 

the  court  house,  and  those  logs  piled  up  there  is  a 
blacksmith  shop,  and  that  is  the  carriage  maker's 
place  of  business."  It  consisted  of  a  shanty  for 
hens,  and  a  small  barn.  I  believe  I  have  catalogued 
the  town ;  if  not,  Colonel  F.  "W.  Potter  will  correct 
me.  As  the  girls  put  their  heads  out  of  the  stage 
and  took  a  view  of  their  new  home,  I  thought  I 
heard  something  like  a  sigh.  I  don't  think  it  was  a 
laugh.  They  were  speechless. 

I  stopped  at  the  printer's,  and  found  our  relatives 
glad  to  see  us,  that  is,  they  said  so.  And  we  settled 
in  the  city  of  Hampden,  county  seat  of  Coffey, 
Neosho  Valley,  Kansas.  The  valley,  as  a  valley,  is 
all  right.  That  still  remains,  and  is  a  rich  farming 
country,  destined  some  day  to  be  highly  cultivated ; 
but  all  independent  of  Hampden  as  a  county  seat. 
I  soon  saw  that  the  political  cast  of  the  place  was 
democratic,  and  that  nothing  but  pure  democracy 
would  be  tolerated  as  a  general  thing.  Negers  were 
to  have  no  sympathy,  and  abolitionists  must  keep 
mum.  The  war  was  a  failure,  Lincoln  was  a 
babboon,  George  B.  McClellan  was  to  be  the  next 
president,  and  the  man  who  denied  it  was  a  fool  and 
a  knave.  Such  was  the  political  and  moral  com 
plexion — for  the  two  are  similar  in  such  a  case —  of 
the  city  of  Hampden. 


286      FKOM    THE    STAGE    COACH   TO    THE    PULPIT. 

I  did  once  venture  cautiously  to  express  my 
humble  opinion  on  certain  great  questions  of  human 
ity  and  national  policy,  and  was  at  once  chided  as 
being  out  of  order  at  the  centre  of  business ;  "  it 
would  not  do  at  the  county  seat."  If  a  man  wanted 
to  talk  that  way,  he  could  cross  "Whistler's  ford" 
and  relieve  his  mind,  but  he  could  not  do  so  and  remain 
in  "Hampden,  county  seat  of  Coffey." 

There  was  one  slight  drawback,  Hampden  was  a 
very  dry  place.  Water  could  be  had  by  going  to  the 
river,  or  at  Denicke's  well.  It  seldom  came  down 
from  above,  and  it  could  not  be  obtained  every  time 
by  any  means,  by  digging.  Water  was  worth 
something  at  the  "city  of  Hampden,  county  seat  of 
Coffey."  Water  being  an  important  element  in  my 
religious,  moral  and  sanitary  creed,  and  free-thinking 
and  free-speaking  a  cardinal  right  in  my  political 
creed,  I  concluded  it  was  best  for  me  to  leave 
"Hampden,  county  seat  of  Coffey."  Some  thought 
we  had  "missed  it."  They  were  correct.  We 
"missed"  about  four  hundred  dollars,  all  of  our 
this-world's  property,  which  we  had  spent  in  the 
flourishing  city  of  "Hampden,  county  seat  of  Coffey." 
Good-by,  "Hampden!"  may  there  never  be  your 
equal  this  side  the  millennium.  I  am  sure  there  will 
not  be  afterwards, 


287 


CHAPTER  XXII. 


A  KANSAS  "FIELD." 


/T\HE  A.  B.  H.  M.  Society  had  sent  me  a 
-*-  commission  as  their  missionary  for  the  Neosho 
Valley,  with  our  head-quarters  at  Humboldt,  Allen 
County.  Our  instructions  were  to  explore  the 
whole  valley  from  Council  Grove  to  the  Indian 
country.  In  October,  we  moved  to  Humboldt. 

My  health  had  so  far  improved  that  I  was  able 
to  preach  once  a  day  on  the  Sabbath,  and  occa 
sionally  twice,  and  ride  in  a  buggy  from  twenty 
to  forty  miles  a  day.  There  were  then  no  bridges. 
The  people  had  not  at  that  early  day  invented 
county  bonds.  The  accommodation  for  travelers 
was  not  equal  to  what  I  had  seen  in  some  parts 
of  the  United  States.  I  can't  speak  for  Europe. 
Altogether, — including  the  extent  of  my  field, 
brought  to  mind  past  infirmities  and  the  permanent 
hold  disease  had  on  me,  by  exposure  to  storms, 
by  fording  of  the  streams,  and  often  by  swimming 


288       FROM    THE    STAGE    COACH    TO    THE    PULPIT. 

the  ponies  and  carriage,  and  by  the  exactions  of 
the  Society  calling  for  just  so  much  labor,  whether 
it  was  entirely  practicable  or  not, — I  was  soon 
brought  nearly  down  to  my  sick  self  again.  I 
must  say,  too,  that  the  compensation  I  received  for 
these  labors  was  not  such  as  to  keep  a  man's  spirit 
in  an  undue  state  of  exhilaration,  taking  into 
account  the  fact  of  a  large  family  and  also  the  fact 
of  Avar  prices.  For  example,  I  paid  ten  dollars 
for  a  hundred  weight  of  flour,  thirty-five  cents  a 
pound  for  bacon,  fifty  cents  a  pound  for  coffee,  two 
dollars  and  fifty  cents  a  pound  for  tea,  and  for  other 
things  in  the  same  proportion.  We  had  lived  all 
winter  in  a  room  eight-by-fourteen  feet.  AVe  were 
compelled  to  set  our  table  and  chairs  out  of  doors 
to  make  room  to  go  to  bed.  For  this,  including 
the  out-door  room,  I  paid  fourteen  dollars  a  month 
rent.  These  every-day  facts  were  looked  at  in  the 
light  of  wealthy  Eastern  churches,  with  good 
comfortable  parsonages,  the  members  there  not 
taking  the  deepest  interest  in  the  pioneer  work 
and  workers. 


[Talk  about  heroism  !     If  you  can  find  those  who 
endured  hardships  more  manfully,  who  crucified  the 


89 

flesh  more  heroically  or  who  labored  more  abun 
dantly  and  with  a  more  Christly  spirit  than  some — 
we  do  not  say  all — of  these  early  pioneers  in  the 
employ  of  the  Home  Mission  Society,  you  may 
deny  the  propriety  of  our  language  when  we  call 
them  heroes,  who  belonged  to  an  heroic  age.  Their 
fields  were  sometimes  as  extensive  as  half  a  dozen 
Methodist  "circuits."  They  were  often  away  from 
home  twice  as  long  at  a  time  as  the  ordinary 
"circuit  rider."  The  Methodist  system  is  substan 
tially  one  of  "circuits,"  even  the  pastors  staying  in 
a  place  but  for  a  limited  time.  So  that  the  early 
"circuit  rider"  was  not  cut  off  from  the  sympathy 
of  the  Church  at  its  great  centers  of  influence.  Of 
course  he  endured  hardships.  Let  no  one  under 
value  his  work  or  his  personal  character.  But 
much  depends  on  how  hardships  are  encountered. 
He  encountered  them  backed  up  by  the  whole 
influence  of  a  powerful  organization  that  was 
making  and  had  always  made  a  chief  glory  of 
abounding  in  his  very  kind  of  labor ;  that  considered 
itself  especially  called  of  God  to  a  pioneer  work. 
And  then  his  work  was  personally  reviewed  every 
year  by  his  bishop,  and  his  promotion  was  in  pro 
portion  to  his  self-denial  and  labors.  It  is  difficult 
to  conceive  of  a  more  congenial  atmosphere  in 
which  to  perform  early  missionary  labor,  than  that 
which  continually  surrounded  the  pioneer  Methodist 
"circuit  rider."  The  case  of  the  appointee  of  the 
Home  Mission  Society  of  the  Baptist  Church  was 
quite  different.  He  was,  in  a  measure  and  to  a 
greater  degree,  isolated.  His  work  could  not  be 
adequately  represented  to  "those  in  authority"  who 
seldom  or  never  visited  the  field  in  person,  and 


290       FKOM    THE    STAGE    COACH    TO    THE    PULPIT. 

often  it  was  uncharitably  compared  with  work  done 
far  away  and  under  totally  different  circumstances. 
The  spirit  of  the  Church  then  and  now  is  more 
properly  spoken  of  as  a  foreign  missionary  spirit. 
The  home  missionary  servant  was  often  well-nigh 
forgotten,  and  his  toils  were  comparatively  unap 
preciated,  while  the  appointee  of  the  Missionary 
Union  was  kept  in  the  warmest  remembrance  and 
his  work  most  highly  prized.  The  sympathy  felt 
for  him  was  active,  practical  and  cordial.  So  that 
we  believe  the  statement  correct,  that  of  all  men 
who  helped  and  are  helping  to  subdue  this  Great 
West  to  the  sway  of  Messiah,  the  comparatively 
isolated  appointees  of  the  A.  B.  H.  M.  Society 
are  worthiest  of  the  name  of  heroes. — ED.] 

I  think,  if  I  had  my  life  to  live  over,  I  would  do 
more  for  the  home  missions  than  ever  I  have  done. 
I  would  labor  more  to  bring  the  wealthy  men  and 
churches  of  the  denomination  into  deeper  sympathy 
with  the  men  and  families  on  the  frontier  who  are 
enduring  well-nigh  all  things,  in  some  cases,  for  the 
Master's  sake.  But,  thank  God,  these  inconven 
iences  and  privations  did  not  deprive  us  of  His 
power  at  Humboldt.  Amidst  the  clangor  of  war 
and  the  constant  fear  of  the  cruel  "bushwhacker," 
which  was  only  another  name  for  murderer  and 
plunderer,  and  whose  foul  deeds  were  being 
perpetrated  nearly  every  day  all  about  us,  the  Spirit 
was  given  and  souls  were  converted  to  Jesus  and 


291 

became  obedient  to  the  faith.  The  place  had  been 
sacked  twice  and  burned  once  by  rebel  Missourians. 
It  was  now  a  military  post,  with  altogether  too 
small  a  protection  to  the  remaining  citizens,  what 
few  there  were  of  soldiers  being  much  given  to 
drinking.  With  two  saloons  in  full  blast  every 
day,  Sunday  not  excepted,  and  the  click  of  the 
billiard-balls  to  be  heard  at  all  hours  of  the  day 
and  night,  I  made  an  attempt  to  preach  a  free  and 
full  Gospel  to  the  few  who  came  and  listened.  The 
larger  part  of  the  congregation  was  made  up  of 
troops  from  the  post.  Among  them,  I  found  a 
young  man  who  was  a  Christian  and  took  part  in 
the  devotions.  He  made  no  special  claim  of  talents, 
but  I  soon  saw  that  he  had  them;  and  I  learned 
from  the  officers  that  he  had  been  ordained,  and 
preached  yet  occasionally. 

Coming  to  Kansas  with  his  father's  family, 
consisting  of  two  or  three  brothers,  he  told  them 
on  the  breaking  out  of  the  war  that  they  ought  to 
have  a  representative  in  the  army  of  the  country, 
and  if  no  one  of  the  others  would  be  that  repre 
sentative,  he  should  be  himself.  He  enlisted  in 
the  cavalry  service.  I  at  once  encouraged  him  to 
engage  again  in  the  ministry,  but  he  declined,  as 
he  said  he  did  not  intend  to  preach  until  he  had 


292   FROM  THE  STAGE  COACH  TO  THE  PULPIT. 

secured  an  education.     I  made  an  effort  to  get  him 

o 

a  discharge  from  the  army  for  that  purpose ;  but 
soon  peace  was  declared,  and  he  arranged  his  affairs 
and  spent  some  time  at  our  State  University  at 
Lawrence,  and  then  completed  his  course  in  the 
Theological  Seminary  at  Chicago,  with  great  credit 
to  himself  and  instructors.  He  is  now  one  of  the 
honored  and  beloved  ministers  of  the  State.  No 
church  need  be  ashamed  of  the  Rev.  R.  P.  Evans, 
pastor  at  Olathe. 

God  poured  out  His  Spirit  at  Humboldt  in  the 
midst  of  all  the  depressing  and  distracting  influences 
at  work.  The  place  was  very  wicked.  No  sooner 
were  backsliders  reclaimed  and  sinners  alarmed, 
than  it  seemed  as  if  all  the  emissaries  of  the  pit  of 
perdition  were  sent  there  on  a  special  embassy 
of  ruin.  But  truth  triumphed,  and  our  Jesus 
conquered  as  He  rode  on  "mighty  to  save."  No 
opposition  could  stop  the  work.  Profane  swearing, 
drunkenness,  lewdness,  lying,  thieving — all  had  to 
give  way  to  the  Spirit's  work  and  the  power  of 
God  in  answer  to  prayerf  The  place  we  held  our 
meetings  in  was  crowded  every  evening,  and  in  the 
day-time  Christians  of  all  denominations  would 
come  together  for  supplication  and  exhortation. 
God  was  with  us  in  mighty  power. 


293 

Soon,  there  was  a  disposition  on  the  part  of  a 
number  of  the  converts  to  follow  the  Master  in  the 
ordinance  of  baptism.  The  officers  at  the  post  gave 
us  the  use  of  a  tent  which  was  spread  at  the  water's 
edge  for  the  accommodation  of  the  female  candi 
dates.  On  the  Lord's  day,  I  baptized  fourteen — all 
adults.  Thus  the  work  went  on  to  the  praise  of 
Christ. 

The  man  who  kept  the  main  saloon  and  billiard- 
tables  of  the  place,  was  the  son  of  a  "hard-shell" 
Baptist  of  southern  Illinois ;  and  among  the  officers 
who  frequented  his  place,  was  Capt.  Kendall,  who 
had  been  well  brought  up,  a  ntan  of  fine  abilities 
and  education,  but  who  had  given  himself  over  to 
drinking  and  gambling.  A  young  man,  not  a 
Christian,  had  conceived  the  idea  of  making  a 
donation  to  the  "poor  missionary;"  and  in  carrying 
out  his  idea,  he  called  at  the  different  places  of 
resort,  as  well  as  business.  This  saloon  was  visited, 
among  the  other  places.  There  he  found  Captain 
Kendall,  playing  billiards.  The  young  man  stepped 
up  to  the  bar,  and  handed  his  paper  to  Mr.  Saloon 
keeper.  He  at  once  rejected  it,  with  an  oath ! 

"No,  not  a  cent.  My  father  is  a  Baptist 

minister,  and  has  preached  these  forty  years  and 
never  received  a  dollar  for  it,  and  is*  a  man  well  off, 


294   FROM  THE  STAGE  COACH  TO  THE  TULFIT 

with  a  good  farm;  and  I  don't  believe  in  these 
missionary  Baptists,  nor  their  protracted  meetings. 
I  won't  give  fnary  red.'  Let  them  go  to  work,  like 
honest  folks."  Captain  Kendall,  hearing  this  reply 
of  Mr.  Saloon-keeper,  said:  "Well,  your  father 

must  have  been  a old  fool,   and  his  son  is  a 

chip  off  of  the  old  block.  Here,  John,  put  me 
down  for  fifty  dollars  ;  and  call  at  my  tent 
to-morrow,  and  I  will  pay  it." 

A  donation  day  was  appointed.  The  largest  place 
in  town  was  jammed,  all  the  officers  and  boys  in  blue 
vieing  with  each  other  to  see  who  should  do  the 
most.  I  received  over  two  hundred  dollars.  It 
was  a  timely  gift,  as  all  things  were  at  war  prices. 
Spring  had  come,  and  we  were  obliged  to  get  out 
of  our  little  "seven-by-nine"  room  where  we  had 
wintered  and  suffered.  As  there  was  no  vacant 
house  in  Humboldt,  a  kind-hearted  brother  at  Tola 
offered  us  a  part  of  his  house  as  a  gratuity,  and  as 
this  was  in  our  field,  we  of  course  took  with  delight 
his  offer  and  moved.  We  have  all  felt  ourselves 
under  great  obligations  to  Brother  and  Sister 
Weller,  of  lola,  for  their  Christian  sympathy  and 
generosity. 


CLOSING    THE    WAR    IN   MISSOURI.  295 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

CLOSING   THE   WAR   IN  MISSOURI. 

(l)  CURING  this  spring  the  war  came  nominally  to 
J-^a  close,  and  yet  all  along  the  borders  of  Kansas 
and  Missouri  the  skulking  "bushwhackers"  were 
committing  fearful  depredations.  Men  ran  great 
hazards  in  venturing  out  to  any  distance  from  the 
settlements.  An  old  gentleman,  with  his  wife- 
friends  and  neighbors  of  ours  from  New  York — had 
come  into  the  country  to  visit  his  children,  and  was 
taken  sick  and  died.  The  widow  requested  me  to 
accompany  her  with  the  corpse  back  to  her  old  home 
in  New  York.  I  consented,  and  we  had  got  as  far 
as  St.  Louis  and  there  I  met  our  brother  Jesse  Stone, 
of  Topeka,  on  his  way  to  Boston.  He  was  going 
through  Rochester,  and  would  take  my  place,  giving 
me  the  privilege  of  attending  our  Anniversaries  at 
St.  Louis,  which  were  then  in  progress.  At  the 
close  of  the  meeting,  the  Missouri  Pacific  road  had 
tendered  free  passes  to  all  members  of  the  conven- 


296      FROM    THE    STAGE    COACH   TO    THE    PULPIT. 

tion  to  the  end  of  the  line,  then  at  Warrensburgh, 
Missouri.  A  large  number  of  the  Eastern  brethren 
accepted  the  proffer,  among  them  Rev.  William 
Michels,  D.D.,  of  New  York  City,  U.  D.  Ward, 
Esq.,  of  New  York  City,  Rev.  S.  Graves,  D.D.,  of 
Norwich,  Connecticut.  Some  of  the  number  were 
going  through  to  Kansas.  As  soon  as  we  were  well 
under  way,  stories  were  put  in  circulation  about  the 
sad  havoc  the  guerrillas  were  making  in  Missouri,  so 
that  at  Warrensburgh  they  all  concluded  to  return 
by  the  next  train.  But  as  my  home  was  in  Kansas, 
I  must  go  on.  We  arrived  in  Warrensburgh  about 
nine  in  the  evening.  The  stage  left  at  ten.  An  old 
man  and  myself  were  all  the  passengers  to  take  the 
stage  for  Independence,  Mo.,  about  one  hundred 
miles.  The  driver  had  a  bottle  of  whisky,  and  was 
quite  "tight"  to  begin  with.  The  night  was  exceed 
ingly  dark.  The  road  ran  most  of  the  way  through 
the  prairie. 

As  the  stage  moved  out  of  town,  the  driver  halted 
and  took  on  a  boon  companion,  of  like  disposition 
and  condition  with  himself,  being  under  the  delusive 
influence  of  bad  whisky.  They  sang  bad  songs,  and 
used  bad  language  without  stint.  After  traveling 
five  or  six  miles,  we  met  the  incoming  stage  with  a 


CLOSING    THE   WAK   IN   MISSOURI.  297 

full  load  of  passengers.  It  stopped  long  enough  to 
convey  the  news  of  the  massacre  at  Holden.  of  several 
of  its  citizens.  We  were  to  change  horses  at  Holden. 
I  saw  this  sad  tale  excited  my  aged  companion  in 
travel,  now  almost  travail,  and  he  suggested  for  us 
to  return  to  Warrensburgh,  and  get  a  conveyance  to 
take  us  through  by  daylight.  But  I  said;  "No,  that 
will  not  benefit  us  by  way  of  protection  from  guer 
rillas."  So  on  we  went  in  the  dark. 

Between  midnight  and  one  o'clock,  the  coach 
stopped,  and  I  heard  the  driver  say:  "We  are  out 
of  the  road ;  here,  you  hold  the  lines,  while  I  get  off 
and  look  for  it."  After  a  long  reconnoissance  he 
came  back,  and  reported  he  could  not  find  it.  The 
old  gentleman  and  myself  had  got  out  of  the  coach, 
and  observed  that  the  man  he  had  left  to  hold  the 
team,  was  sound  asleep  on  the  box.  I  asked  of  the 
driver  :  "Where  did  you  leave  the  road-track?"  He 
replied,  with  an  oath,  that  he  didn't  know.  I  asked 
him  to  let  me  have  the  coach  lamp  and  I  would  go 
and  see  if  I  could  discover  it.  As  I  took  the  lamp, 
the  old  gentleman  opened  the  stage  door  and  took 
his  satchel  out.  So  we  started  off  together.  And  a 
fruitless  search  it  was.  We  came  back  to  find  both 
men  in  a  drunken  sleep  in  the  stage,  occupying  the 


298   FROM  THE  STAGE  COACH  TO  THE  PULriT. 

seats,  one  of  them  having  taken  my  satchel  and 
shawl  for  pillow  and  covering.  I  went  to  the  boot 
of  the  coach,  and  got  the  bottle  of  whisky  and 
emptied  it  on  the  ground,  and  then  threw  the  bottle 
as  far  as  I  could  out  on  the  prairie.  I  set  the  lamp 
in  its  socket,  and  waited  for  day.  Nothing  could  be 
seen  but  the  dim  horizon  in  the  distance.  Not  a  star 
shone  through  the  thick  clouds  that  made  the  night 
so  densely  dark. 

I  saw  all  this  time  that  my  aged  friend  was  much 
excited,  though  he  said  but  little.  As  daylight 
broke  the  spell  of  darkness,  I  could  discover  in  the 
distance,  men  walking  back  and  forthwith  glistening 
muskets.  It  was  not  light  enough  for  me  to  see  the 
dress  of  the  men.  The  question  that  arose  to  me, 
and  well  nigh  choked  me  was :  "Is  the  color  grey  or 
blue?"  I  soon  saw  that  four  of  them  were  approach 
ing  us,  and  I  called  up  the  boys  and  told  them  to 
hitch  up,  as  we  wanted  to  be  moving.  As  the  men 
neared  us,  I  saw  that  they  were  soldiers  in  BLUE  ! 
How  blessed  was  that  blue  !  I  felt  better,  as  well  as 
I  can  remember.  The  fact  was,  this  drunken  driver 
had  been  out  on  a  waste  prairie  four  or  five  miles, 
and  these  were  the  United  States  troops  on  the  look 
out  for  the  raiders  on  Holden.  They  saw  us  by  our 


CLOSING    THE    WAR    IN    MISSOURI.  299 

stage  light,  and  bad  kept  us  in  view  for  hours, 
expecting  that  the  bushwhackers  would  make  their 
appearance,  and  pounce  upon  us  as  their  prey.  The 
sergeant  of  the  guard  directed  us  to  the  main  road, 
and  at  eight  o'clock  we  arrived  at  Holden.  We  were 
due  there  at  four  o'clock,  A.  M.  The  town  was  panic 
struck.  Six  of  her  citizens  had  been  murdered  in 
open  daylight,  and  in  cold  blood,  by  a  band  of  law 
less  devils  in  human  shape,  who,  although  the  war 
was  closed,  were  pushing  their  fiendish  work  of 
death  for  plunder's  sake. 

I  informed  the  stage  agent  of  the  conduct  of  his 
driver,  and  went  before  a  notary  public  and  made 
affidavit  to  the  facts  as  above  related.  The  hotel 
was  demoralized  and  broken  up  by  the  murders  and 
subsequent  panic,  so  that  no  breakfast  could  be 
obtained  there.  A  stranger  informed  us  that  just 
out  of  town,  on  the  stage  road,  was  a  boarding 
house  where  we  could  get  something  to  eat.  So  my 
old  companion  and  myself  asked  the  stage  agent  if 
he  would  have  it  stop  for  us  at  the  place.  "Well," 
said  he,  "I  am  not  certain  that  the  stage  will  go 
to-day,  as  the  military  will  not  furnish  any  guard. 
You  do  not  want  to  go  without  protection,  do  you?" 
There  were  some  railroad  contractors  that  had  been 


300   FROM  THE  STAGE  COACH  TO  THE  PULPIT. 

waiting  for  the  stage  ever  since  it  was  due  in  the 
very  early  morning,  and  were  very  anxious  to  get 
to  their  men  on  the  job,  six  or  eight  miles  ahead. 
They  said  they  "must  go"  Railroads  are  generally 
built  \)y  men  who  talk  in  that  way.  They  could 
defend  themselves  "a  little."  One  of  them,  turning 
to  me,  said,  "Stranger,  have  you  any  revolver?" 
and  to  my  companion:  "Old  man,  have?"  I  told 
them  I  had  none.  "Well,  here  is  one  I  will 
lend  you  as  long  as  we  are  together."  I  thanked 
him  and  took  it.  The  old  gentleman  said,  "I  should 
not  know  how  to  use  one  if  I  had  it ;  I  never  shot  a 
gun  in  my  life."  "Well,  said  I,  "call  for  us  at  the 
small  house  on  the  hill,  and  we  will  walk  along." 
The  lady  gave  us  corn  cake  and  bacon,  and  bitter 
coffee,  made  worse  with  sorghum.  I  saw  the  old 
gentleman  kept  his  satchel  in  his  hand  all  the  time, 
and  after  our  meal  he  said,  "I  will  walk  along  and 
get  in  when  you  come  up." 

An  overgrown  specimen  of  a  "puke,"  who  seemed 
to  be  general  hanger-on  about  the  house,  said,  "If 
you  have  got  anything  valuable  with  you,  you  had 
better  leave  it  with  me,  for  I  doubt  if  you  ever  get 
to  Pleasant  Hill  alive,  if  you  don't  have  any  escort 
there.  Them  bushwhackers  are  in  the  bush 


CLOSING   THE    WAR   IN   MISSOURI.  301 

between  here  and  that  place."  I  saw  this  excited 
the  old  man  afresh.  As  we  walked  along,  and  as 
soon  as  we  were  out  of  hearing  of  this  individual, 
who  had  all  the  latent  symptoms  of  a  bushwhacker 
himself,  my  companion  said,  "I  suppose  you  are  a 
good,  honest  man,  and  I  will  tell  you  my  condition. 
It  is  this.  I  am  going  to  Kansas  to  see  my  sons  at 
Emporia,  or  near  there,  and  I  am  carrying  them 
money  to  buy  land  with.  I  have  got  twenty 
thousand  dollars  in  this  satchel.  I  live  in  Pennsyl 
vania,  in  Crawford  County.  I  am  a  member  of  the 
Presbyterian  church,  and  I  hope,  a  Christian.  I  had 
no  thoughts  of  any  such  trouble  as  this.  If  I  had, 
I  never  would  have  started.  I  have  never  been 
away  from  home  much.  I  thought  I  would  hide 
the  money  somewhere  in  the  woods,  and  then  if  I 
could,  go  to  see  my  children."  The  tears  came  in 
the  old  man's  eyes  as  he  spoke.  I  said,  "Now, 
this  is  your  best  policy.  Keep  quiet.  Act  careless 
about  your  money.  Treat  your  valise  as  though 
there  was  nothing  in  it.  Throw  it  down  anywhere. 
Keep  your  eye  on  it,  but  appear  unconcerned  about 
it.  Don't  get  excited  when  men  talk.  That  man 
saw  you  were  anxious  about  something,  where  we 
took  breakfast." 


302       FKOM   THE    STAGE    COACH   TO   THE    PULPIT. 

Up  came  the  stage  with  the  railroad  contractors 
and  one  lady  aboard.  The  old  man  threw  in  his 
rubber  cloth  satchel,  and  on  we  went.  One  of  the 
passengers  informed  us  that  our  greatest  danger  was 
about  five  miles  on.  Then  we  would  be  out  of 
harm's  way  until  at  the  Osage  River,  a  few  miles 
this  side  of  Independence ;  but  the  probabilities 
were  that  we  should  have  an  escort  of  cavalry  from 
Pleasant  Hill  to  Independence.  We  arrived  at  the 
former  place  about  two  p.  M.,  and  found  that  the 
troops  stationed  there  had  just  returned  from  a  long 
and  weary  scout  for  bushwhackers.  They  were 
wearied  out,  horses  and  all.  The  captain  of  the 
guard  said  he  could  not  send  a  protection  until  the 
next  day ;  but  finally  said,  "If  the  men  will  vol 
unteer,  I  will  consent."  And  the  old  man  said,  "I 
will  pay  them  something."  So  the  bugle  sounded  a 
"call,"  and  up  came  the  men.  He  made  known  to 
the  soldiers  the  facts,  and  added  that  some  of  the 
gentlemen  had  promised  them  a  present  if  they 
would  go  to  the  crossing  of  the  Osage  River.  The 
old  gentleman  said,  "Yes,  I  will  give  each  man  a 
dollar  that  will  go,"  and  twelve  volunteered.  We 
were  safely  escorted  to  the  river,  and  before  dark, 
we  were  in  the  city  of  Independence.  The  railroad 


CLOSING   THE    WAR   IN   MISSOURI.  303 

was  completed  from  there  to  Kansas  City.  On  this 
of  course  we  gratefully,  and.  with  much  relief,  rode 
into  the  "village  at  the  mouth  of  the  Kaw."  Here 
my  old  Peunite  concluded  to  stay  until  the  next 
Monday  morning.  He  proposed  to  give  me  twenty 
dollars  for  aiding  him.  I  thanked  him  No,  I  didn't 
wish  to  be  compensated  for  doing  right  and  using 
my  wits.  I  went  on  to  Lawrence  to  spend  the 
Lord's  day. 

Soon  after  returning  home,  the  Kansas  State 
Convention  of  Baptists  was  to  hold  its  third  annual 
meeting  in  Paola,  June,  1865.  Paola  had  been  a 
military  post  during  the  war,  and  long  barracks  had 
been  constructed  for  the  quartering  of  the  troops. 
The  commanding  officer  of  the  post  had  given  the 
use  of  these  buildings  to  the  Convention,  and  had 
arranged  them  as  well  as  he  could  for  the  holding  of 
the  meetings.  There  was  a  good  representation 
of  officers  and  men  in  the  meetings.  The  delegates 
of  ministers  and  others  from  the  State  were  fully  as 
numerous  as  could  be  expected.  Rev.  J.  B.  Taylor, 
appointed  to  preach  the  opening  sermon,  was  con 
sidered,  doctrinally  speaking,  of  the  "hard-shell" 
stamp.  If  there  were  ever  any  doubts  entertained 
before  of  the  propriety  of  the  epithet  as  applied  'o 


304      FKOM    THE    STAGE    COACH   TO    THE    PULPIT. 

him,  they  were  all  effectually  scattered  by  this 
sermon.  It  was  antinomian  "hard-shellism"  hard 
ened.  The  Association  received  it  kindly,  chari 
tably,  and  in  a  way  that  spoke  volumes  for  their 
common  sense,  by  letting  it  pass  without  note  or 
comment.  That  brother's  effort  was  destined  oi 
course  from  all  eternity  to  fall  upon  ears  that  were 
dull  of  hearing,  and  so  to  drop  into  well-earned 
oblivion.  Inconsistency  is  woven  into  the  very 
texture  of  the  lives  of  men,  individually  as  well  as 
into  that  more  complex  life  of  associated  men — 
mankind.  That  in  this  day  of  steam  and  electricity 
and  personal  achievement,  any  one  could  hold  to 
such  ideas  as  those  mildly  called  "hard-shell," 
belonging  only  to  the  "sleepy  hollow"  age  of  the 
world,  if  to  any,  is  one  of  those  phenomena  that 
prove  beyond  controversy  that  the  "fall"  made  men 
liable  to  become  fools  as  well  as  knaves. 

All  was  moving  on  with  the  best  of  feeling,  until 
the  last  day  of  Convention,  when  the  committee 
on  the  state  of  the  country  reported  a  scries  of 
resolutions,  among  which  was  one  on  the  death 
of  President  Lincoln,  expressed  in  terms  of  lamen 
tation,  and  adulation  of  him  as  a  Christian  President, 
etc.  The  room  was  crowded  with  United  States 


CLOSING    THE    WAR   IN   MISSOURI.  305 

officers  and  soldiers,  as  well  as  of  "citizens."  No 
sooner  had  the  resolutions  been  read,  than  the 
"hyper"  brother  arose  and  moved  that  "so  much 
of  the  resolutions  as  referred  to  Mr.  Lincoln  as  a 
Christian  President  be  stricken  out ;"  and  then  went 
on  to  make  a  most  violent  speech,  denouncing  the 
President  for  being  in  a  theatre  when  he  was 
assassinated.  He  ought  to  have  taken  it  into 
account  that  he  was  "foreordained"  to  have  gone 
there  !  You  might  as  well  undertake  to  put  out 
powder  when  it  is  once  ignited,  as  to  have  kept  that 
audience,  so  largely  made  up  of  the  "boys  in 
blue,"  still.  I  being  in  the  chair,  called,  "Order! 
Order ! "  But  more  than  a  dozen  men  were 
making  efforts  to  get  their  hands  on  him.  One 
had  his  bowie-knife  drawn,  to  kill  him  on  the  spot. 
But  two  brethren,  Major  H.  A.  Dean  and  Sergeant 
R.  P.  Evans,*  interfered,  and  saved  the  man  from 
sudden  death  at  the  hands  of  United  States  soldiers. 
He  was  spirited  away  and  secreted  until  night, 
when  he  left  for  his  home  in  Lyon  County.  The 
resolutions  were  passed  without  opposition,  except 
as  above  noted. 


*Now,  Rev.  R.  P.  Evans,  of  Olathe. 


306       FROM    THE    STAGE    COACH    TO    THE    PULPIT. 

I  have  related  this  unhappy  affair,  simply  because 
great  injustice  has  been  done  the  brethren  who 
were  prominent  in  the  Convention,  by  charging 
them  with  being  the  instigators  of  intended  violence 
to  the  person  of  Rev.  J.  B.  Taylor.  To  me,  it 
was  said,  in  the  city  of  New  York,  that  "I,  as  the 
presiding  officer  of  the  body,  and  others  connected 
with  me,  put  the  officers  and  men  up  to  it."  All 
present  at  the  time  know  that  I  tried  to  keep  the 
meeting  in  order.  I  but  speak  for  the  brethren 
of  the  convention,  when  I  say  that  the  charge  is 
false. 

We  then  had  a  noble  band  of  brethren  in  this 
new  State.  We  were  far  from  each  other.  Our 
ministerial  meetings  were  few  and  far  between. 
The  churches  were  small  and  poor.  There  were 
but  one  or  two  finished  Baptist  meeting-houses  in 
the  State — one  at  Atchison  and  one  at  Manhattan, 
I  believe.  There  was  a  frame  up  at  Neosho  Rapids. 
Leaven  worth,  Lawrence,  Topeka,  Junction  City, 
Paola,  Fort  Scott,  Ottawa,  Emporia — not  a  Baptist 
church  edifice  in  any  of  them,  and  all  growing; 
towns  of  importance  in  anticipation,  with  all  the 
elements  to  make  them  fulfill  the  expectation. 

I  am  astonished  at  the  advance  made  by  us,  in 


CLOSING    THE    WAR    IN   MISSOURI.  307 

every  respect.  Our  Sunday  school  system  was  in  a 
disorganized  condition.  The  schools  were  feeble, 
poorly  organized  and  irregular  in  attendance.  We 
had  a  few  young  ministers  of  education  and  ability. 
Now,  we  have  them  by  scores  ;  and  the  above-named 
towns  are  supplied  with  able  men,  and  with  church 
buildings  that  are  ornaments  to  their  respective 
cities.  The  summer  and  autumn  of  1865  marks  a 
new  era  in  the  history  of  the  churches  in  Kansas. 
The  war  having  come  to  a  close,  Christian  men 
began  to  think  of  doing  something  for  the  Master. 
Quite  a  number  of  the  men  who  had  gone  into  the 
war  and  a  few  of  the  ministers  returned  to  their 
homes,  to  preach  Christ  and  serve  the  churches. 
While  they  thanked  Him  for  victories  in  the  field, 
they  thanked  Him  still  more  for  the  victories  of  the 
Cross  over  sin  and  depravity.  Immigration  came 
in  like  a  flood,  and  towns  that  had  been  in  a  stand 
still  condition  during  the  nation's  conflict,  sprang 
into  new  life.  God  was  in  Kansas,  notwithstanding 
some  "jayhawking"  citizens. 


308   FROM  THE  STAGE  COACH  TO  THE  PULPIT. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

AND   LEAVENWORTH. 

IN  October,  1865,  the  trustees  of  the  Ottawa 
"University" — Rochester  and  Harvard  forgive 
the  mark  ! — invited  me  to  move  to  that  new  "city," 
and  take  an  agency  of  the  institution,  on  a  salary 
of  one  thousand  dollars  per  year,  and  traveling 
expenses  paid.  I  consented  to  do  so,  and  at  an 
early  day  moved  my  family  to  the  place,  and 
commenced  my  work  as  I  was  directed  by  the 
chairman  and  secretary  of  the  board.  The  Baptist 
church  at  Leavenworth  had  begun  to  build  an 
edifice,  and  the  pastor,  Reverend  Winfield  Scott, 
invited  me  to  be  present  at  the  laying  of  the  corner 
stone  ;  and,  by  the  consent  of  the  board,  I  went. 
Soon  after,  Mr.  Scott  wrote  the  board,  asking  them 
to  permit  me  to  enter  their  service  as  agent  to 
collect  funds  for  the  carrying  on  of  their  great 
project.  Consent  was  given ;  and  I  went  East  for 
that  object,  and  spent  the  spring  and  summer  of 


1866  in  the  New  England  States  and  New  York. 
I  first  stopped  in  Quincy,  Illinois,  collecting  about 
two  hundred  dollars.  Next,  in  Chicago,  I  raised 
the  same  amount.  In  Coldwater,  Michigan,  I  raised 
one  hundred  and  thirty-four  dollars.  I  then  went 
to  New  York,  Boston,  Hartford,  Providence  and 
the  lesser  towns  and  cities,  and  returned  to  Ottawa, 
having  been  absent  from  my  family  from  the  ninth 
of  February  to  the  eighth  of  October.  During 
this  time  I  was  sick  in  New  York  City  six  weeks, 
but  able  a  part  of  the  time  to  supply  some  of  the 
vacant  pulpits,  the  pastors  being  away  on  their 
summer  vacations,  the  compensation  for  such 
services  to  be  applied  to  the  church  in  Leavenworth 
towards  their  building  fund.  I  went  to  New 
London,  Connecticut,  and  spent  ten  days  with  an 
old  fellow-laborer,  Rev.  Jabez  Swan,  whom  I  had 
not  seen  in  thirty  years,  and  with  him  went  to 
the  Stonington  Union  Association,  and  heard  him 
preach  to  the  hosts  of  New  England  Baptists.  It 
was  "a  feast  of  fat  things"  to  hear  him  expound  the 
Word  of  God  and  describe  the  revivals  he  had 
witnessed  in  that  old  Association,  and  what  he  had 
accomplished  in  his  early  pastoral  work  in  New 
York  and  other  States.  I  saw  that  a  few  of  the 


310      FROM    THE    STAGE    COACH   TO    THE    PULPIT. 

younger  brethren  in  the  ministry  thought  he  was  a 
little  too  rough  in  his  manner  of  address.  But  the 
large  majority  of  these  representatives  of  the  New 
England  churches  had  the  greatest  faith  in  his 
integrity  and  piety.  Thousands  upon  thousands 
all  over  the  land  were  his  epistles  known  and  read 
of  all  men.  Many  of  them  were  present  in  this 
meeting.  In  his  first  pastorate  in  New  London  he 
had,  by  his  plain,  truthful  dealing  with  error,  so 
exasperated  the  Universalists  that  they,  in  their  hot 
zeal,  had  gone  on  and  built  an  expensive  church, 
going  far  beyond  their  means,  hoping  blindly  to  be 
able  to  meet  their  coming  liabilities.  When  this 
new  and  elegant  house  was  dedicated,  many  of 
Swan's  brethren  said,  if  he  had  been  a  little  more 
mild,  that  society  would  never  have  built  such  an 
edifice ;  it  grew  up  into  form  and  beauty  out  of 
his  imprudent  and  rash  course  towards  them. 
Brother  Swan  hearing  this  a  number  of  times, 
replied :  "Brethren,  the  day  will  come  when  you 
or  your  children  will  see  that  meeting-house  dedi 
cated  and  owned  by  the  Baptists  in  the  city  of  New 
London.  Now,  mark  my  words."  Brother  Swan 
was  soon  called  as  pastor  of  the  State-street  church, 
in  Albany,  New  York.  During  the  two  or  three 


311 

years  of  his  settlement  in  Albany,  the  debts  on  the 
fine  Universalist  house  in  New  London  began  to 
press  upon  them.  Sixteen  thousand  dollars  must 
be  raised,  or  the  house  would  be  sold  under  the 
sheriff's  hammer.  No  relief  came.  Three  or  four 
of  the  wealthier  Baptists  went  to  Albany,  and  said 
to  Brother  Swan  :  "If  you  will  come  back  to  New 
London,  we  will  buy  the  new  Universalist  meeting 
house,  and  have  you  installed  as  pastor  in  it.  He 
consented  ;  and  in  a  few  weeks  a  sheriff's  deed  was 
made  out  to  the  Baptist  church  and  society,  and 
Jabez  Swan  installed  as  its  pastor.  There  he 
remained,  enjoying  the  fulfillment  of  his  prophecy, 
until  age  had  disqualified  him  for  active  labor  as  a 
pastor  in  the  place. 

Rev.  Jabez  Swan  was  an  outspoken  man  in  a'l  his 
private  and  public  ministrations.  As  a  man  in 
social  life,  he  was  as  mild  and  quiet  as  a  child,  and 
as  tender  in  dealing  with  inquirers  after  truth  as  the 
beloved  John.  In  the  pulpit,  he  was  like  Paul — 
logical  and  truthful.  In  prayer,  he  was  a  power 
with  God.  He  could  prevail.  While  pastor  in 
Albany,  he  was  called  upon,  as  the  custom  was  in 
that  State  at  the  time  for  the  resident  ministers  in 
Albany,  to  act  in  turn  as  chaplain  of  the  House  of 


312   FROM  THE  STAGE  COACH  TO  THE  PULPIT. 

Representatives  and  Senate.  The  Speaker  of  the 
House  at  the  time,  Hon.  E.  Litchfield,  was  a 
Baptist.  When  Swan's  morning  came  to  officiate, 
Litchfield  called  the  House  to  order  and  said :  "The 
Reverend  Jabez  Swan  will  address  the  Throne  of 
Grace."  Swan  commenced  in  the  usual  way 
of  formality,  but  soon  introduced  the  practical 
matter  of  supplication,  making  time  and  place  and 
subjects  as  pointed  and  personal  as  possible — 
something  like  the  following:  "Oh,  thou  Almighty 
Savior  of  sinners,  here  in  this  congregation  are  such 
as  need  salvation,  and  of  every  imaginable  class. 
Here,  O  Lord,  are  men  steeped  in  iniquity,  in 
bribery,  in  drunkenness,  lies,  licentiousness  and 
debauchery ;  1  old  blasphemers,  men  who  fear  not 
God  nor  regard  the  interests  of  man — men  who  are 
reprobate  to  all  that  is  holy  and  good.  Now,  Lord 
God,  make  known  Thy  mercy  in  saving  them  from 
the  power  of  the  second  death,  and  sustain  Thy 
servant  who  is  called  to  preside  over  them,  that  he 
be  not  contaminated  by  this  herd  of  thieves  and 
robbers.  In  Thy  name  we  ask  it.  Amen  and 
amen."  Honorable  Mike  Walsh,  of  New  York  City 
notoriety,  an  eccentric  fellow,  arose  in  his  place  at 
the  conclusion  of  the  prayer,  and  moved  a  question 


"OTTAWA  UNIVERSITY" — LEAVEN  WOKTH.      313 

of  privilege.  When  the  chair  had  announced  his 
name  as  having  the  floor,  he  continued :  "I  move 
that  a  copy  of  this  prayer  be  spread  upon  the 
journal  of  the  House,  for  it's  the  most  appropriate 
prayer  I  have  ever  heard  in  this  place." 

While  thus  acting  as  agent  of  the  church  at  Leav- 
enworth,  I  was  permitted  to  witness  the  Spirit's 
power  in  the  salvation  of  sinners,  in  a  number  of 
places  where  it  would  have  been  delightful  to  have 
remained  and  assist  the  different  pastors,  had  duty 
permitted  me  to  do  so.  But  I  had  a  special  object 
in  pursuit.  And  I  have  always  acted  on  this  prin 
ciple  :  never  to  do  two  things  at  once.  "This  one 
thing  I  do,"  said  Paul.  I  did  depart  from  this  rule 
for  a  short  time  at  Coldwater,  Michigan,  where  I 
found  the  church  in  a  divided  state,  and  where  it 
seemed  to  be  duty  to  remain  a  few  days  and  assist 
in  the  Christian  work  of  reconciling  brethren. 
After  a  week's  stay,  not  without  its  good  results,  I 
trust,  I  went  on,  stopping  at  Detroit  over  one  night. 
In  this  city,  the  churches  were  at  the  time  embar 
rassed  with  debt ;  and  so  I  hastened  on  to  New 
York  State,  where  I  was  born  and  where  my  youth 
had  been  spent  in  folly  and  sin :  where  the  Spirit 
first  revealed  to  me  the  deep  depravity  of  my  nature  ; 


814      FROM    THE    STAGE    COACH    TO    THE    PULPIT. 

where  God,  for  Christ's  sake,  forgave  my  sins  arid 
led  me  to  the  cross  for  hope  of  eternal  life.  As  I 
came  to  some  of  the  places  where  I  had  lived  as  a 
sinner,  I  could  not  suppress  my  tears  of  mingled 
grief  and  joy — grief,  when  I  remembered  the 
blindness  and  hardness  of  my  heart  when  a  youth ; 
joy,  when  I  considered  my  great  deliverance  from 
the  power  of  sin. 

One  sad  reflection  came  upon  me  like  an  armed 
force.  It  was  this  :  Many  of  the  old  ministers, 
and  those  who  were  my  companions  in  the  labor 
of  the  Gospel,  had  gone  to  the  Better  Land  to  rest, 
and  were  waiting  for  the  resurrection  of  the  just. 
The  time  was  when  I  knew  nearly  every  Baptist 
minister  in  the  State  from  Lake  Erie  to  the  east 
end  of  Long  Island;  from  1840  to  1857,  I  had 
commingled  much  with  those  in  the  western  and 
southern  portions  of  the  State.  Among  them, 
were  men  of  choice  spirit.  But  now,  their  places 
were  vacant  or  filled  with  the  young  men  who 
had  been  raised  up  in  the  churches  and  educated 
in  our  schools,  nearly  all  of  them  strangers  to  me. 
It  was,  however,  a  cheering  reflection  that  upon 
many  of  these  sons  of  the  Gospel  the  mantles  of 
their  ascended  fathers  had  fallen,  and  the  Elishas  of 


w OTTAWA  UNIVERSITY" — LEAVENWORTH.      315 

to-day  were  doing  the  very  work  of  the  Elijahs  of 
yesterday.  It  is  a  source  of  joy  and  pride  to  see 
what  the  schools  of  the  prophets  have  accomplished 
for  the  Baptist  churches  and  their  ministers  in  the 
last  quarter  of  a  century.  Forty  years  ago  we  had 
in  all  Western  New  York,  but  few  educated  min 
isters,  and  now  nearly  every  church  in  the  State  is 
supplied  with  a  pastor  whom  no  church  would  be 
ashamed  to  have  stand  before  any  audience  as  the 
ambassador  of  Christ.  I  could  but  exclaim,  "God 
bless  these  dear  young  men  with  the  power  of  the 
Spirit ! "  The  most  of  them  gave  the  best  of  evi 
dence  that  they  were  taught  of  God,  as  well  as  in 
the  Seminary. 

I  found  only  one  exception,  and  perhaps  what  I 
criticized  in  him  was  a  mistake  more  than  a  fault.  A 
young  brother  was  to  preach  the  opening  sermon  at 
an  Association.  His  text  was  Isaiah  Ixiv.  6  :  "We  do 
all  fade  as  a  leaf."  After  an  introduction  by  way 
of  urging  upon  the  assembly  the  importance  of  a 
chemical,  agricultural  and  scientific  understanding 
of  the  processes  of  nature  in  the  growth  of  vegeta 
tion,  he  announced  his  theme,  "The  Fading  Leaf," 
and  then  set  forth  the  doctrine  of  the  text,  (he  said 
it  was  the  doctrine)  First,  "The  process  of  fading 


316   FROM  THE  STAGE  COACH  TO  THE  PULPIT. 

and  falling;"  Second,  "The  use  the  leaf  is  put  to 
by  nature,  after  it  fades  and  falls."  The  sermon 
had  one  grand  feature.  It  was  just  twenty-seven 
minutes  long.  At  the  conclusion,  all  said  Amen.  I 
was  invited  home  to  dinner  with  an  old  friend  who 
asked  me,  with  a  twinkle  of  the  eye,  as  we  walked 
along,  "What  agricultural  society  did  that  young 
man  say  he  belonged  to  ? "  There  was  not  a  good 
round  sentence  in  it,  from  beginning  to  end,  for 
Christ  and  the  salvation  of  lost  men.  But  this  case 
was  an  exception  to  the  young  men  generally.  He 
had  more  learning  than  good  Gospel  sense. 

I  have  given  my  views  in  a  previous  chapter  on 
the  subject  of  an  educated  ministry,  so  that  I  will 
not  trespass  again  upon  the  time  of  the  reader  to 
enlarge  upon  the  subject  at  this  point.  Everywhere 
I  went  I  was  hailed  with  a  most  hearty  welcome  by 
old  and  young,  friends  and  strangers.  After  the 
meeting  of  the  anniversaries  in  Boston,  I  came  to 
Connecticut  and  spent  the  time  till  their  annual 
State  meeting  in  the  city  of  Hartford — a  meeting 
long  to  be  remembered.  It  was  a  grand  sight  to 
see  those  New  England  Baptists  who  had  contended 
so  earnestly  for  the  faith  once  delivered  to  the  saints 
against  ecclesiastical  domination  and  the  authority 


317 

of  a  law  of  persecution,  and  to  hear  the  reports 
from  the  churches  they  represented,  showing  how 
much  material  and  spiritual  prosperity  attended 
them  in  all  their  religious  enterprises.  Such  devoted 
men,  laymen  and  ministers  !  Such  liberality  as  was 
evinced  for  every  good  object !  Such  fraternal 
respect  for  each  other,  and  for  the  opinions  of 
others  !  There  was  no  great  "/"  and  little  "yow," 
as  I  had  witnessed  in  some  places.  The  doctors  of 
Divinity  did  not  put  on  airs,  or  betray  any  symptoms 
of  having  that  bane  of  human  greatness,  "the  big- 
head."  Every  man's  hat  fitted  his  own  head.  One 
evening  of  the  session  was  given  to  a  social  and 
simple  supper  in  the  large  edifice  of  the  First 
Baptist  church.  At  this  supper  a  number  of  gentle 
men,  not  members  of  the  denomination,  were  called 
upon  for  speeches,  among  them  Hon.  Mr.  Hawley, 
Governor  of  the  State,  and  son  of  a  Baptist  minister 
in  the  State,  who  had  toiled  when  Baptists  every 
where  in  New  England  received  "cold-shoulder" 
and  Baptist  ministers  small  salaries  in  addition.  I 
was  called  upon  to  represent  Kansas  and  the  needs 
of  the  Baptist  church  at  Leavenworth,  and  in 
response  to  my  plea  for  the  latter,  received  nearly 
seven  hundred  and  fifty  dollars.  All  the  pulpits  of 


318      FROM    THE    STAGE    COACH    TO    THE    PULPIT. 

that  State  were  open  for  the  presentation  of  the 
wants  of  the  needy.  Well,  Connecticut  is  a  grand 
old  State  !  It's  a  good  State  to  be  in.  It's  easy 
work  to  praise  it. 

At  Danbury  I  found  a  noble  band  of  Christian 
men  and  women.  Here  I  was  invited  by  the  pastor, 
Kev.  D.  M.  Stone,  D.  D.,  now  of  Milwaukee, 
Wisconsin,  to  present  the  claims  of  my  object. 
Also  at  Norwalk  I  received  the  same  invitation  from 
Rev.  C.  N.  Swan,  son  of  Jabez  Swan,  of  New 
London.  The  church  at  Stamford  is  a  grand  spec 
imen  of  what  a  church  ought  to  be.  This  church, 
Rev.  Edward  Lathrop,  D.  D.,  pastor,  good  and 
true,  treated  me  with  New  Testament  consideration 
and  liberality.  I  then  came  back  to  New  York  and 
took  the  line  of  churches  up  the  Harlem  road  to 
Westchester,  Putnam  and  Dutchess  counties,  and 
attended  the  two  Associations  composed  of  the 
churches  in  that  wealthy  region  of  hills  and  dales 
which  well  nigh  flows  with  milk,  the  farmers  fur 
nishing  this  article  in  the  greatest  quantities  for  the 
New  York  market.  From  these  hills  the  water  also 
for  that  mighty  city  is  furnished.  The  Croton  River 
is  here  turned  into  two  or  three  reservoirs,  from 
which  it  flows  in  underground  acqueducts  about 


eighty  miles  to  the  city,  costing  millions  of  dollars. 
I  did  not  wonder  that  so  many  of  the  people  in  that 
country  were  of  Baptist  proclivities,  water  being 
so  valuable  an  article,  and  so  highly  prized.  I 
heard  no  complaints  that  it  was  "dangerous  to 
health,"  as  we  hear  out  West. 

While  in  Rhode  Island  I  received  a  telegram 
requesting  me  to  go  to  Washington,  D.  C.,  to  meet 
a  friend,  and  to  attend  to  business  relating  to  the 
"University"  at  Ottawa.  Having  complied  with 
this,  I  returned  to  New  York,  where  I  resigned  my 
position  in  connection  with  that  enterprise,  and  then 
hastened  to  my  home  in  Ottawa,  Kansas.  As  their 
pastor,  Rev.  I.  Sawyer,  D.  D.,  had  resigned,  the 
church  invited  me  to  supply  their  pulpit  until  they 
could  obtain  another  pastor.  Mrs.  Stimson  was 
acting  as  matron  of  the  Indian  Department  of  the 
school.  I  accepted  the  position  of  supply  until  the 
next  autumn.  I  then  went  to  Lawrence,  and  com 
menced  a  meeting  in  connection  with  the  pastor  of 
the  Baptist  church  in  that  place,  Rev.  E.  D.  Bentley. 
This  was  about  Christinas.  I  only  expected  to 
remain  a  few  days,  and  then  return  to  Burlington  to 
spend  the  winter  with  my  daughter  and  her  family. 

Perhaps   it   will    be   of  sufficient  interest  to   the 


320   FROM  THE  STAGE  COACH  TO  THE  PULPIT. 

reader  to  detail  somewhat  the  precious  work  of 
grace  in  Lawrence  during  the  winter  of  1867-1868. 
It  was  Wednesday  evening,  the  time  for  the  regular 
prayer  meeting  of  the  church.  Pains  had  been 
taken  by  the  pastor  and  others,  to  give  notice  that 
there  would  be  preaching  in  the  lecture  room.  At 
the  hour  appointed  there  were  seventeen  present, 
all  told.  I  talked  to  this  handful  from  the  Word  of 
the  Lord  in  Nehemiah  iv.  6,  "For  the  people  had  a 
mind  to  work,"  introducing  two  simple  thoughts : 
First,  The  magnitude  of  our  work ;  Second,  What 
is  our  individual  work  as  Christians  ?  At  the  con 
clusion,  I  suggested  this  as  a  test  of  our  willingness 
to  enter  at  once  upon  the  work,  that  each  one  bring 
a  friend  with  him,  or  her,  at  the  meeting  the  next 
night,  and  that  would  make  thirty-four.  Thursday 
night  came,  and  there  were  over  one  hundred 
present,  and  soon  we  had  to  go  into  what  was  the 
main  audience  room  at  the  time,  and  before  January 
was  out,  all  the  churches  in  the  city  were  in  a  full 
blaze  of  revival  spirit,  and  multitudes  of  the  impeni 
tent  were  heard  to  inquire,  "What  must  we  do  to  be 
saved?"  It  was  estimated  that  in  all,  four  hundred 
had  submitted  to  Jesus,  and  hoped  in  his  saving 
power. 


I  remained  in  Lawrence  until  June,  and  then  went 
to  Atchison,  to  supply  the  desk  until  Dr.  Sawyer, 
pastor  elect,  should  assume  his  position  in  the 
church.  I  spent  the  remainder  of  the  year  in 
preaching  in  destitute  communities  and  in  asssisting 
pastors  in  protracted  efforts,  as  opportunities  offered. 
During  the  time  of  holding  these  meetings,  we 
experienced  great  inconvenience  for  the  want  of 
proper  places  in  which  to  hold  them,  and  the  suffering 
to  the  people  was  great  from  what  are  called  "basket 
meetings"  held  in  the  woods.  These  annoyances 
or  sufferings  proper  were  two  :  First,  The  chills 
and  fever  attacked  the  people,  because  of  the 
miasma  that  arises  from  all  unsubdued  lands  in  the 
Western  States,  especially  from  low- wooded  lands. 
Second,  The  flies,  of  which  we  have  large  swarms 
in  this  country,  annoyed  the  horses  and  mules  so 
badly  that  it  was  almost  impossible  to  keep  the 
animals  in  camp.  Besides  these,  the  heavy  rains, 
so  common  in  the  forepart  of  the  season,  might  be 
mentioned. 


322   FKOM  THE  STAGE  COACH  TO  THE  PULPIT. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 


one  of  these  out-door,  afflicted  gatherings  at 
LaNape,  Brother  Winfield  Scott  and  myself 
suggested  the  idea  of  a  large  tent,  such  as  we  had 
both  seen  in  the  army,  and  the  practical  utility  of 
which  we  both  knew.  If  we  only  had  this,  we 
could  go  on  to  the  open  prairie,  where  it  would  be 
healthier  and  pleasanter,  and  could  also  be  protected 
against  the  hot  sun  and  the  dews,  the  rains  and  the 
flies.  When  the  thing  was  named  to  the  multitude, 
it  was  hailed  as  the  very  thing  needed,  and  a  reso 
lution  was  passed  that  if  possible  one  be  obtained, 
and  that  Brother  H.  K.  Stimson  be  requested  to 
solicit  subscriptions  for  the  purpose — the  tent  to  be 
called  the  "Baptist  Tabernacle  for  Kansas."  Early 
in  this  winter,  I  started  out  on  this  mission  for  a 
temporary  meeting-house  that  could  be  easily  moved 
from  place  to  place,  as  circumstances  should  demand. 
I  found  the  Northern  winters  in  the  sections  of 


323 

country  I  wanted  to  visit  for  the  purpose  so  severe, 
and  my  health  so  feeble,  that  but  little  could  be 
accomplished  until  the  spring  should  open.  Mean 
time,  I  had  gone  on  East  and  made  a  few  collections. 
In  April,  I  left  New  York  for  the  West.  At 
Chicago,  I  had  the  tent  constructed,  seats  and  all; 
and,  by  the  advice  of  brethren,  set  it  up  in  that 
city,  the  friends  there  contributing  towards  the 
expense.  We  held  meetings  in  it  for  four  or  five 
days  and  nights,  with  large  audiences  filling  it  to  its 
utmost  capacity.  It  would  hold,  comfortably  seated, 
about  sixteen  hundred  persons,  and  by  crowding 
it,  twenty-five  hundred  could  be  got  inside  of  it. 

When  we  were  ready  to  move  it,  the  Chicago, 
Burlington  and  Quincy  Railroad  Company,  and  the 
Hannibal  and  St.  Joe  Company,  volunteered  to 
convey  it  to  Leavenworth,  free.  The  Eeverend 
L.  P.  Judson,  of  Stillwater,  New  York,  accom 
panied  us  and  took  charge  of  the  tent  as  far  as 
Leavenworth ;  and  there,  with  the  assistance  of 
that  ever-ready  and  industrious  Reverend  Winfield 
Scott,  we  pitched  the  Tabernacle  for  dedication. 
Large  crowds  assembled  from  day  to  day  and  from 
night  to  night.  We  next  moved  it  to  Ottawa, 
where  there  was  to  be  a  Sunday  school  celebration, 


324   FROM  THE  STAGE  COACH  TO  THE  PULPIT. 

and  where  we  were  persuaded  to  erect  it  for  the 
accommodation  of  the  large  meeting.  From  there, 
we  went  to  LeRoy,  Cofley  County.  At  this  place, 
the  small  church  gave  us  the  best  accommodation  in 
their  power,  under  the  circumstances.  At  this 
place,  my  health  gave  out,  and  I  was  obliged  to 
desist  from  further  personal  labor  during  the  season. 
The  brethren  at  Burlingame,  Osage  County,  had 
proposed  to  send  teams  for  the  tent,  in  which  to 
hold  the  meetings  of  their  Association.  But  failing 
to  come  to  time,  we  put  the  Tabernacle  into  winter 
quarters  at  Burlington. 

This  tent  enterprise  aroused  a  good  deal  of  oppo 
sition  from  the  enemies  of  religion,  and,  I  regret  to 
say,  a  few  of  the  professed  friends  of  the  Master  in 
Kansas.  Why  they  should  oppose  it,  I  could  never 
know.  It  was  suggested  that  it  grew  out  of  the 
fact  that  they  did  not  get  it  up,  and  that  there  was 
no  money  to  be  made  out  of  it  for  their  pockets. 


[This  somewhat  famous  tent  might  have  been  as 
successful,  practically,  as  it  was  bold  and  original 
in  conception,  if  it  had  not  been  for  two  mistakes — 
one  of  which  Father  Stimson  was  not  responsible 
for,  under  any  circumstances ;  and  the  other  was 
a  most  natural  mistake  to  make  for  a  man  ambitious 


325 

of  doing  the  most  good.  Too  much  cannot  be  said 
in  praise  of  the  idea  of  such  a  tent.  It  showed  a 
more  thorough  comprehension  of  the  situation  than 
anything  ever  devised  in  a  religious  way,  even  in 
prolific  Kansas.  The  first  mistake  was  in  making 
the  tent  too  large.  It  was  not  too  roomy  for  some 
places  where  it  would  be  advisable  to  erect  it. 
But  it  was  designed  for  pioneer  work,  for  towns 
and  communities  where  there  were  no  church 
buildings  or  public  halls,  and  where  one-half  the 
room  would  accommodate  all  the  people  that  could 
be  induced  to  attend  public  worship,  even  in  so 
novel  and  inviting  a  place  as  a  tent.  The  canvas, 
seats  and  poles  were  a  full  load  for  four  horses.  It 
was  a  great  job  to  move  it  from  place  to  place.  If 
it  had  been  half  as  large,  an  ordinary  wagon  and 
span  of  horses  would  have  been  all  the  equipage 
necessary  for  its  removal.  The  work  of  erecting  it 
would  not  have  been  half  as  much ;  and  in  every 
place  it  would  have  been  entirely  full — and  others, 
besides  public  speakers,  know  the  inspiring  effect 
of  a  full  audience.  The  second  mistake  was  in 
erecting  it  in  places  where  it  wasn't  really  needed. 
In  Chicago,  where  it  was  gotten  up,  it  was  well 
enough  to  spread  it  for  an  opening  meeting.  But, 
even  there,  it  ought  to  have  been  with  the  square 
promise  on  the  part  of  responsible  ones  that  every 
cent  of  indebtedness  on  it  should  be  paid  off  at  the 
time.  It  never  should  have  been  erected  iii 
Leavenworth  or  Ottawa.  These  towns  had  certainly 
passed  beyond  the  tent  period.  If  a  tent  that 
would  comfortably  seat  five  or  six  hundred  had 
been  kept  in  the  infant  towns  of  Kansas  from  the 
time  this  monster  canvas  first  made  its  appearance 


326   FROM  THE  STAGE  COACH  TO  THE  PULPIT. 

at  Leavenworth,  and  had  been  manned  by  Brethren 
Stimson  and  Scott,  it  is  safe  to  say  that  the  number 
of  conversions  in  the  State  during  the  time  would 
have  been  at  least  five  thousand  greater. 

I  would  rather  be  the  author  of  a  grand  failure, 
than  to  live  forever  like  some  old  parchment-skinned 
conservative,  whose  main  characteristic  consists  in 
equivocating  so  as  to  avoid  every  square,  vital  issue, 
and  whose  religion  consists  in  not  doing  anything 
that  will  have  the  least  appearance  of  being  out  of 
the  ordinary  beat.  Such  men,  howerer  much  they 
may  cry  "Lord,  Lord,"  hardly  belong  to  the  race  of 
heroes  smitten  with  the  power  of  the  Spirit  until 
wherever  they  go  the  cry  is  :  "These  that  have  turned 
the  world  upside  down,  have  come  hither  also." 
If  they  ever  keep  company  with  the  apostles  and 
their  spiritual  successors,  the  Lord  will  surely  have  to 
shake  the  easy-going,  damnable  conservatism  out  of 
them.  I  would  rather  be  Sir  John  Franklin,  though 
the  unknown  region  of  the  Pole  is  never  pierced  by 
the  prow  of  any  human  navigator,  than  to  be  old 
Sir  Parchment  Conservative,  with  my  money  bags 
and  blessings,  the  fruitage  of  other  people's  enter 
prise,  and  for  whose  daring  and  skill  I  had  only 
sneers.  I  would  rather  be  the  child  of  the  man 
who  devised  for  God  and  humanity  this  tent,  though 
it  was  too  large,  and  though  it  was  set  up  at  first 
where  it  was  not  needed,  than  to  be  obliged  to  call 
any  of  the  full-favored  persons,  or  those  afflicted 
with  the  dry  rot  of  conservatism,  who  ridiculed  the 
enterprise,  my  father. 

It  was  my  good  fortune  to  be  present  a  short  time 
at  Fort  Scott,  during  Brother  E.  P.  Hammond's 
stay  in  that  enterprising  city,  when  the  old  tent 


327 

vindicated  the  wisdom  of  its  originator.  It  was 
during  his  great  religious  campaign  in  Kansas,  in 
the  year  1872,  when  God  so  signally  blessed  Atchi- 
son,  Leaven  worth,  Topeka,  Ottawa,  Paola,  Fort 
Scott,  and  last,  but  chiefly,  Lawrence,  with  His 
saving  grace,  and  the  name  of  Hammond  became  a 
household  word  with  thousands  who  previously 
cared  for  none  of  God's  fellow-laborers.  All  these 
places  except  Fort  Scott,  had  church  buildings,  or 
halls  large  enough  to  accommodate  the  multitudes 
that  crowded  the  meetings  of  this  wonderful  man  of 
God.  Here  there  was  no  place  that  would  hold  the 
half  of  them,  until  the  active  ones  thought  of  the 
tent,  and  brother  Hammond  with  his  quick  insight 
for  expedients  urged  the  brethren  there  to  secure  it. 
I  went  as  a  special  messenger  in  behalf  of  the  church 
at  Ottawa.  I  arrived  at  Fort  Scott  after  ten  o'clock 
at  night.  I  hurried  up  town  ;  delegates  from  other 
places  and  for  the  same  purpose  being  aboard  the 
same  train.  I  found  the  tent  jammed  with  human 
beings,  and  the  backless  seats  in  the  open,  chill  air 
outside,  all  full.  It  was  estimated  that  from  five 
hundred  to  a  thousand  were  outside  the  tent  each 
night.  People  had  come  from  long  distances  in 
covered  wagons  to  attend  the  meetings.  If  it  had 
not  been  for  the  big  tent,  Fort  Scott  would  not  have 
enjoyed  the  labors  of  the  great  evangelist,  which 
resulted  in  such  "showers  of  blessings."  If  the  tent 
had  never  served  any  useful  purpose  before,  and 
never  shall  again,  its  service  in  the  great  meetings 
at  Fort  Scott  has  vindicated  its  making  many  fold. 
—ED.] 


328      FROM   THE    STAGE    COACH   TO    THE    PULPIT. 

At  LeRoy,  after  we  had  got  the  meeting  in  opera 
tion,  one  of  the  lawyers  of  the  place,  an  old  acquain 
tance  of  mine,  met  me  in  the  street  with  the  remark  : 
"Ha !  Elder,  I  understand  you  have  gone  into  the 
circus  business,  and  are  now  performing  in  our 
city."  This  was  said  with  a  leer  in  the  expression 
of  his  face,  that  expressed  his  hatred  of  religion.  I 
replied:  "O,  yes,  Squire  J.,  and  I  am  out  now  to 
look  up  a  babboon  to  put  into  the  concern,  and  you 
are  the  very  one  for  the  place ;  come  right  along,  I 
will  do  well  by  you."  He  turned  on  his  heel  and 
left.  As  a  general  thing,  our  efforts  with  the  tent 
were  treated  with  due  respect  by  all  classes. 


KINDERHOOK WHEATLAND.  329 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

KINDERHOOK — WHEATLAND . 

MY  feeble  and  failing  health  demanded  rest  and 
quiet.  So  I  went  East  to  Michigan,  to  stay 
a  while  with  a  daughter  in  that  State  and  recruit 
for  the  spring  campaign.  But  I  was  advised  by 
physicians  and  friends  not  to  think  of  exposing 
myself  to  the  fatigue  and  hardship  of  such  exhausting 
work,  especially  at  my  time  of  life.  At  Kinderhook, 
Michigan,  where  my  daughter  resided,  was  a  Baptist 
church  without  a  pastor.  In  fact  they  had  never 
enjoyed  the  regular,  consecutive  labor  of  a  pastor ; 
preaching  "oiict"  a  month,  or  "twict"  at  best,  being 
the  rule  with  them.  The  church  numbered  about 
thirty  or  thirty-five.  They  had  built  a  snug  little 
meeting-house,  and  had  a  good  congregation.  An 
invitation  was  extended  me  to  become  their  pastor, 
which  I  accepted.  I  at  once  moved  my  family  there, 
and  found  them  a  good,  common  sense  people,  quite 
consistent  in  their  daily  walk,  and  willing  to  do  what 


330       FROM    THE    STAGE    COACH   TO    THE    PULPIT. 

they  could  to  sustain  the  cause  of  Christ,  and  hold 
up  the  hands  of  the  pastor  and  make  his  position 
secure  and  comfortable.  So  the  first  year  passed 
off  agreeably,  and  with  evident  tokens  of  good  in 
prospect. 

Our  Sunday  school  was  a  union  school.  No 
sectarian  sentiments  were  to  be  taught  in  it,  as  is 
the  common  rule  in  such  cases.  Not  even  a  book 
was  admitted  that  had  a  tendency  in  that  direction. 
In  the  year  1S70-'71,  we  had  quite  a  religious 
awakening,  and  a  number  of  hopeful  conversions  to 
Jesus.  On  one  Lord's  day,  a  regular  teacher  in 
the  school  was  absent,  and  her  place  was  supplied 
by  the  wife  of  the  Methodist  clergyman  of  the  place. 
In  the  lesson  the  subject  of  baptism  occurred.  A 
young  lady  in  the  class  asked  a  question  on  the 
subject.  The  teacher  at  once  protested  that  baptism 
was  not  by  immersion,  and  that  Jesus  was  not 
baptized  as  an  example,  but  as  an  introduction  into 
the  priest's  office.  When  I  returned  home,  I  found 
quite  a  fermentation  working  on  the  subject,  and 
thought,  as  it  was  a  union  school,  these  things  ought 
not  so  to  be.  The  next  Sabbath,  the  said  Methodist 
lady  came  with  her  husband  to  frown  me  down,  and 
to  choke  off  all  utterances  by  way  of  protest  on  my 


KINDERHOOK — WHEATLAND.  331 

part.  "Wishing  to  counteract  the  mutually  inter 
dicted  inlluence  then  and  there,  in  my  own  house  of 
worship,  as  it  was  manifesting  itself  in  the  pew 

away  in  one  corner,  I  said,  "If  you  wish,  Mr.  H , 

to  discuss  these  questions  at  a  proper  time  and  in  a 
proper  spirit,  I  hold  myself  ready  to  engage  in  the 
discussion.  But  just  here  and  now,  I  am  not  ready 
to  enter  upon  it,  and  for  the  present,  I  protest." 

But  the  spirit  of  war  was  diffusing  itself  like 
leaven  in  the  meal.  In  June,  Brother  A.  P.  Graves 
came  and  labored  four  or  five  days  with  the  church, 
and  the  revival  spirit  of  the  previous  winter  was 
renewed  and  increased  to  a  large  extent.  .The 
meeting  closing  on  Friday,  the  next  day  was  our 
covenant  meeting.  I  gave  notice  of  the  same,  and 

Mr.  gave  notice  that  he  should  be  there  and 

preach  at  five  p.  M.,  and  if  any  wished  to  join  his 
class,  an  opportunity  would  be  afforded.  Saturday 
came,  and  to  my  surprise  nearly  every  convert  was 
there.  And  as  they  presented  themselves,  one  after 
another,  for  baptism,  a  number  of  the  Methodist 
brethren  and  sisters  made  the  request  to  be 
admitted,  and  among  the  number  was  the  man  who 
had  been  a  class  leader,  and  a  strong  supporter  of 
that  church  for  years.  He  arose  and  said  :  "You 
all  know  me  and  my  course  of  life.  I  want  to  be 


332   FROM  THE  STAGE  COACH  TO  THE  PULPIT. 

immersed,  and  become  a  member  of  this  Baptist 
church."  Ten  or  twelve  united  and  were  baptized 
the  next  day  in  Silver  Lake.  It  was  a  grand  day  for 
converts  and  the  church,  and  the  old  pastor  never 
felt  better  in  his  life. 

The  Methodist  minister  lived  opposite  my  house, 
and  as  he  returned  home  to  attend  his  five-o'clock 
appointment,  his  good  wife  sat  in  the  doorway, 
waiting  for  him,  and  I  sat  in  my  door.  As  he  drove 
up  to  the  gate,  his  wife  rose,  and  walking  with 
rapid  strides,  threw  up  her  hands  and  exclaimed  in 
upper  tones,  "John,  they  have  all  gone,  George 

and  all,  into  the  Baptist  church  !"  Mr.  H 

hung  his  head,  and  sat  silent  for  awhile.  He  then 
went  and  put  out  his  horse.  This  broke  up  the 
sweet  union,  so  much  talked  of  by  certain  ones — 
union  as  long  as  they  can  have  their  say  and  way. 

Just  in  the  midst  of  this  revival,  the  old  Wheat- 
land  church  extended  me  a  call  to  visit  them,  and 
re-settle  with  them  as  pastor.  I  went  down  to  New 
York  and  spent  two  weeks  with  them,  and  gave 
them  encouragement  of  accepting  their  invitation. 
They  expressed  a  great  desire  that  I  should,  and 
offered  me  many  inducements,  pecuniary  and  other. 
But  when  I  returned  to  Kinderhook,  and  found 
what  the  Spirit  was  doing,  and  the  state  the  church 


KINDEKHOOK WHEATLAND.  333 

was  in,  and  how  much  the  young  converts  needed 
the  fostering  care  and  counsel  of  a  pastor,  I  wrote 
to  the  friends  in  Wheatland  that  it  would  be  impos 
sible  for  me  to  leave  at  the  particular  juncture. 
For  some  unaccountable  reason  my  letter  and  other 
letters  did  not  reach  them,  nor  their  communications 
reach  me.  So  the  negotiations  between  us  ended. 
Perhaps  it  was  all  for  the  best.  In  a  human  view, 
it  did  look  as  though  something  might  have  been 
accomplished  for  that  old  wealthy  church  and 
people.  I  can  imagine  that  an  effort  at  that  time 
would  have  resuscitated  the  cause  in  that  once  very 
flourishing  field  of  religious  power. 

On  the  other  hand  there  would  have  been  many 
things  against  such  a  success.  The  two  young 
churches  on  either  side  of  them  were  anxious  to 
secure  the  wealthy  and  active  members  still  remain 
ing  in  the  mother  church.  Mumford  and  Clifton 
were  like  the  "daughters  of  the  horse  leech."  And 
then  again,  I  was  much  older,  and  somewhat 
impaired  in  health.  As  I  said  to  an  old  friend, 
H.  K.  Stimson  of  1850  was  not  the  same  man  in 
1871.  A  large  majority  of  the  members  remaining 
knew  me  only  when  they  were  children,  and  the 
elderly  ones  would  say,  "Well,  we  heard  that 
clattering  voice  a  long  time  ago,  but  now  it  has  lost 


334       FROM    THE    STAGE    COACH   TO   THE   PULPIT. 

its  ring  and  vim."  It  may  all  have  been  for  the 
best  as  it  was.  I  meant  to  do  right.  The  other 
too  churches  had  good,  reliable  pastors,  and  are 
working  in  harmony  serving  God.  I  wish  we  had 
more  such  here  in  Kansas,  and  more  such  meeting 
houses  with  their  bells  in  many  of  our  new  and 
rising  towns. 

The  old  cemetery  in  Wheatland  is  a  sacred  city 
of  the  dead  to  me.  There  are  the  remains  of  a 
multitude  of  dear  old  friends,  in  whose  names  and 
memories  there  is  a  sweet  fragrance.  They  were, 
many  of  them,  my  counselors  and  supporters,  in 
the  days  of  my  residence  among  them..  These 
hands  helped  to  smooth  the  dying  pillows  of  some 
of  them,  and  over  the  cold  bodies  of  many  I  said, 
"Dust  to  dust."  And,  a  dearer  tie  than  these — a 
large  number  of  them  I  buried^  with  Christ  in  the 
baptismal  tomb.  One  little  cherub  lies  in  the 
sacred  enclosure  of  that  cemetery  whom  we  depos 
ited  there  during  the  first  year  of  our  residence  in 
Wheatland.  Oh,  what  a  glorious  day  that  will  be 
when  the  graves  shall  give  up  their  dead,  and  we 
shall  greet  each  other  in  the  Celestial  City  !  God 
hasten  it  in  His  time ;  and  let  us  be  prepared  to 
meet  Him  and  each  other  with  joy,  and  not  with 
grief. 


BURLINGTON,    KANSAS.  335 


CHAPTER   XXVH. 

BURLINGTON,    KANSAS. 

IT  was  a  strange  Providence  that  brought  us  back 
to  Kansas  again.  But  I  can  now  see  that  it  was 
a  Providence  fraught  with  the  weightiest  consid 
erations,  as  all  His  dealings  are.  Our  children  who 
remained  here  were  constantly  writing,  urging  us  to 
return  to  Burlington ;  and  the  remnant  of  the 
Baptist  church  here  held  out  inducements  to  me, 
pleading  that  something  might  be  done  to  resuscitate 
the  fallen  cause  of  the  church  in  the  place.  Their 
late  pastor  had  deserted  them  and  joined  another 
denomination,  and  left  the  church  in  a  distracted 
state.  He  had  gone  off  largely  in  debt,  to  his  own 
disgrace  and  their  shame ;  and  if  something  was  not 
soon  done,  all  would  go  to  ruin.  Through  his 
mismanagement,  a  small  dwelling-house  had  been 
purchased  with  a  tax-title  against  it  and  a  mortgage 
of  two  hundred  dollars.  They  hud  already  paid 
more  than  the  property  was  worth  or  would  bring 


336   FROM  THE  STAGE  COACH  TO  THE  PULPIT. 

in  market.     On  arrival,  I  found  things  even  worse 
than  represented,   and  the  church  few  in  numbers 
and  poor.     I  did  not  expect  to  settle  as  pastor  with 
any  church,  but  to  rest  with  our  children  and  do 
such  missionary  work  as  might  present  itself,  espe 
cially  among  the  poor  and  destitute  communities  in 
this   county.     But  soon  the  church  extended  me  a 
call  to  become  pastor ;  and  although  they  could  not 
promise    a   competent    support,   they  would   do  all 
that  in  their  poverty  they  could  to  sustain  a  pastor. 
Under  these  circumstances,  I  accepted  the  position 
and  set  myself  at  work.     We  had  no  place  in  which 
to  hold  our  meetings,  only  an  old  dilapidated  school 
room  in  an  upper  loft — dirty,  dingy,  inconvenient, 
uninviting.     The  Sunday  school  was  about  the  only 
redeeming  feature  of  the  concern,  and  that  greatly 
retarded   for    the   want   of    an   attractive   place    in 
which  to  collect  the  children.     Many  of  the  parents 
did  not  wish  their  children  to  go  up  into  the  old 
stone  building.     The  school  had  been  kept  together 
by  Brother  I.  Mickel,  who  was  doubtless  the  best 
superintendent   in   the    city.     In  the  course  of  the 
winter,  the  Episcopal  chapel  was  vacant,   and  the 
wardens  of  the  church   invited   us   to    occupy   the 
house  until  they  should  be  supplied  with  a  rector. 


BURLINGTON,    KANSAS.  337 

We  accepted  their  kind  offer,  and  at  once  entered 
the  chapel  with  our  Sunday  school  and  congre 
gation.  Both  were  soon  largely  increased,  and 
things  moved  on  for  awhile  with  a  degree  of  pros 
perity.  But  soon  some  of  the  feminine  members 
of  that  church  began  to  put  on  "high  church"  airs, 
and  thought  it  an  outrage  on  the  sacred  place  for  an 
"unconsecrated  and  unordained"  man  to  preach 
there,  polluting  their  "sacred  and  holy  sanctuary." 
And  then,  "if  this  old  Baptist  Elder  and  his  little 
church  can  get  up  a  Sunday  school  of  seventy-five 
or  eighty  children  and  a  decent  congregation,  why 
can't  we?"  who  are  the  regular  succession.  The 
good  brother,  the  rector  who  had  preached  to  the 
church  and  was  expected  to  return  in  the  spring, 
was  a  true,  evangelical,  Christian  gentleman,  and 
had  suggested  the  matter  of  our  occupying  their 
house  in  his  absence.  Soon,  however,  we  were 
notified  to  vacate  the  premises,  and  were  again 
turned  out  upon  the  "cold  charities"  of  the  world. 
Some  of  the  most  lovely  and  devout  Christians  I 
have  ever  seen,  were  members  of  the  Episcopal 
communion.  They  were  "low  church,"  though, 
you  ma}-  be  sure.  Such  cared  much  more  for 
Christ  than  for  "church,"  and  for  his  true  members 


338       FllOM    THE    STAGE    COACH    TO    THE    1'ULPIT. 

than  for  mummeries.  As  for  "high  church"  people, 
Simon-pure,  I  have  the  same  feelings  and  respect 
for  them  I  have  for  the  high-priests  and  Pharisees 
mentioned  in  the  account  of  the  murder  of  Christ. 
They  belong  to  the  same  category.  They  have 
great  regard  for  the  "outside  of  the  cup  and  platter." 
They  have  much  more  respect  for  the  vestments 
than  the  character  of  the  men  (or  men  and  boys) 
who  "minister"  before  them.  They  never  could 
have  endured  John  the  Baptist.  His  "vestments" 
would  have  been  shockingly  Avanting  in  length  and 
in  all  regard  for  the  sacred  proprieties.  They  would 
prefer  to  do  without  the  Messiah,  rather  than 
receive  Him  at  the  hands  of  such  a  "Forerunner." 
A  Gospel  that  could  be  preached  in  the  wilderness, 
or  on  a  lake  in  a  fisherman's  dirty  boat,  and  that 
was  glad  news  to  tax-gatherers  and  harlots,  is  alto 
gether  too  rough  a  thing  for  them  in  their  soft  silks. 
How  such  "high  church"  grandees  are  ever  to 
endure  a  heaven  of  equality,  to  keep  company  with 
redeemed  Magdalenes  and  poor  people  with  bad 
antecedents,  and  to  worship  Him  who  "exchanged 
visits"  when  here  on  earth  with  families  that  did 
their  own  work,  is  a  matter  of  strange  interest  to 
me.  Women  seem  to  have  a  "fatal  facility"  for 


BURLINGTON,    KANSAS.  339 

soaring  (or  sinking)  into  this  hyperion  of  double- 
rectified  religion.  It  must  have  been  invented  to 
suit  their  superlative  notions.  There  is  something 
so  select  about  it.  It  doesn't  bring  them  into 
contact  with  females  who  presume  to  worship  God 
with  last  year's  bonnets  on  their  plebeian  heads,  and 
who  manipulate  the  "prayer-book"  with  ungloved 
hands.  It's  the  nobbiest  thing  out,  this  genteel, 
gilt-edged,  high-toned,  Fifth-avenue,  carriage-and- 
four,  F.  F.  V.,  superlatively  refined  improvement 
on  the  religion  of  the  homeless,  wandering  Son  of 
the  Nazarene  carpenter. 

Notwithstanding  we  had  no  place  in  which  to 
meet  except  an  old  dingy  Court-room,  our  Sunday 
school  kept  up  its  interest.  We  were  very  kindly 
offered  the  use  of  such  meeting-houses  as  were  not 
used  by  the  respective  churches  worshiping  in 
them — a  kindness  appreciated  by  us  all.  At  this 
time,  the  mortgage  on  the  property  of  the  church 
became  due,  and  the  parties  holding  it  were  pressing 
its  payment.  An  effort  was  made  to  cancel  the 
claim ;  but  the  old  patrons  of  the  enterprise  were 
unwilling  to  contribute  any  more,  and  there  the 
matter  was  likely  to  hang.  Just  before  this,  a 
brother  and  sister  had  come  among  us  from  the 


340      FROM   THE    STAGE   COACH  TO   THE   PULPIT. 

Second  church  of  Rochester,  New  York.  They 
proposed  to  assist  in  the  payment  of  the  mortgage, 
on  condition  that  an  effort  be  made  to  build  a  house 
of  worship ;  in  which  case,  they  would  also  purchase 
a  lot  on  which  to  build  it.  After  much  pleading 
and  a  little  ill-feeling  on  the  part  of  some,  the 
mortgage  was  paid,  by  Mrs.  Stimson  giving  fifty 
dollars  of  money  especially  belonging  to  her.  This 
offering  did  not  come  out  of  our  two  hundred-dollar 
salary,  not  yet  all  paid.  We  shan't  cry  if  it's  never 
paid.  This  Brother  Wigston,  from  Rochester,  New 
York,  procured  a  suitable  lot ;  and  it  was  decided 
by  the  trustees  and  church  that  I  should  go  and 
solicit  assistance  in  erecting  a  suitable  house  of 
worship.  Accordingly,  on  the  ninth  of  April  I 
started  out  on  my  mission ;  and  after  spending  a  few 
weeks  in  Michigan,  where  I  received  a  cordial 
greeting  and  material  contributions  to  my  object 
from  both  pastor  and  people,  I  hastened  on  to 
Western  New  York.  Many  of  these  Michigan 
people  will  be  held  in  refreshing  memory,  and  will 
have  the  lasting  gratitude  o£  the  little  church  in 
Burlington,  for  their  liberal,  practical  sympathy, 
manifested  to  them  in  their  poverty.  I  have  often 
said  when  alone,  "God  bless  the  pastors  and  churches 
in  Michigan." 


OLD   MEMORIES.  341 


CHAPTER  XXVIH. 

OLD  MEMORIES. 

I  ARRIVED  in  New  York  just  in  time  to  wit 
ness  the  proceedings  of  the  Niagara  Baptist 
Association  at  Akron.  It  was  in  this  Associa 
tion  that  I  was  ordained,  and  in  which  many  of  my 
youthful  ministrations  were  bestowed.  Here  I  met 
a  few  of  the  veterans  of  the  Master's  cause,  but  not 
one  of  the  old  ministers.  All  were  at  rest.  Hon. 
Burt  Van  Home  was  a  child  when  we  labored  in  this 
Association.  I  remembered  well  the  house  and 
home  of  his  devoted  father  and  mother,  who  were 
pillars  in  Zion ;  and  the  day  he  was  baptized  in  one 
of  those  precious  revivals  in  Newfane.  He  was 
moderator  of  the  Association,  a  position  he  has  held 
for  a  number  of  years  consecutively.  And  a  capital 
presiding  officer  he  makes.  I  spent  the  next  Lord's 
day  in  Lockport,  and  the  next  week  in  attending  the 
Orleans  Association  at  Shelby.  Here  I  met  a  large 
number  of  old  friends,  but  not  a  minister  that  I  knew 


342   FROM  THE  STAGE  COACH  TO  THE  PULPIT. 

when  I  was  young.  I  was  led  to  ask  :  "The  fathers, 
where  are  they?  and  the  prophets,  do  they  live 
forever?"  Here,  I  met  the  widow  and  family  of 
one  of  the  Wheatland  members  I  baptized  in  1847, 
and  was  made  the  guest  of  the  family  during  my 
stay  there.  I  was  offered  a  collection,  and  was 
invited  to  visit  their  churches  in  the  Association. 

I  then  went  on  to  Eochester,  and  spent  a  long 
time  with  old  friends  and  with  the  churches  in  and 
about  that  goodly  city.  The  land-marks  in  many 
places  had  been  moved,  and  in  not  a  few  respects 
radical  changes  had  taken  place — some  for  the 
better  and  some  not  for  the  better.  Eochester  is  a 
grand  little  city,  in  which  I,  in  common  with  the 
whole  Baptist  brotherhood,  feel  a  degree  of  pride. 
How  different  now  from  the  first  time  I  saw  it  in 
1819 !  Fifty-four  years  had  changed  it  from  a 
little  village  to  a  prosperous,  literary,  religious  city 
of  eighty  thousand  inhabitants — the  influence  of 
which  is*  felt  to  the  ends  of  the  earth  through  the 
educated  sons  of  its  institutions  of  learning.  I 
went  there  to  live  in  1824.  Then  its  streets  were 
not  paved,  except  with  black  mud.  I  remember 
that  in  Buffalo  street,  between  State  and  Sophia,  I 
got  "stalled"  with  an  empty  coach  in  1826,  and  had 


OLD    MEMORIES.  343 

to  send  back  to  the  hotel  for  help  to  get  out. 
There  were  some  things  I  remembered  as  I  revisited 
the  localities,  that  I  wished  I  could  forget.  I  will 
not  enumerate  them  ;  "of  which  I  am  now  ashamed." 
They  bring  a  blush  to  my  temples  as  I  think  of 
them.  I  will  allude  to  only  this  one,  of  the  lighter 
sort.  This  is  hardly  a  specimen  of  many  that  were 
much  more  disgraceful.  The  village  had  then  just 
organized  a  police  force,  and  had  for  a  place  in  which 
to  confine  violators  of  the  public  peace,  the  basement 
of  the  then  new  court-house,  long  since  given  place 
to  the  stately  edifice  that  now  graces  the  city.  In 
this  room  they  had  just  put  new  cricket-bedsteads, 
and  nice  rose  blankets,  so  that  the  city  criminals 
.could  have  rest  of  body,  if  not  of  conscience.  These 
sleeping  accommodations  had  not  been  used.  I 
knew  the  man  on  duty  that  night ;  only  one  at  a  time 
was  required.  His  name  was  "Constable  Beach,"  as 
we  called  him.  It  was  court  week,  and  every  bed 
in  the  ''Eagle  Hotel"  and  "Mansion  House"  and 
"Clinton  Hotel"  was  full.  Mr.  Ainsworth,  the 
keeper  of  the  "Eagle"  had  given  the  beds  in  the 
attic  story,  that  were  usually  occupied  by  the  stage 
drivers,  to  some  of  his  court  guests.  So  we  were 
called  to  He  on  the  floor  in  the  bar-room,  or  sit  up, 


344      FROM    THE    STAGE    COACH   TO   THE    PULPIT. 

just  as  would  suit  our  tastes  best.  After  ya wiring 
out  our  stories  and  getting  tired  of  our  entertain 
ment,  and  feeling  the  need  of  rest,  I  saw  Constable 
Beach  pass  along  the  street,  on  his  round  of 
duty.  At  once  I  thought  of  the  new  beds  under  the 
court-house,  and  suggested  to  the  boys  a  plan  for 
lodging  for  the  remaining  short  hours  of  the  night. 
The  plan  was  this  :  we  would  go  into  the  street  and 
get  up  a  sham  fight  among  ourselves ;  Beach  would 
come  along,  arrest  us  and  put  us  into  the  new  rooms 
and  clean  beds  of  the  city  "boarding  house."  Out 
we  all  went,  five  or  six  of  us,  and  began  our  row, 
then  clinched.  Up  came  Beach  in  great  haste, 
arrested  all  of  us,  and  hurried  us  over  to  the  court 
house  bed  rooms.  "There,  boys,  you  can  lie  down 
there  if  you  choose.  In  the  morning  I  shall  take 
you  before  Squire  Warner,"  and  he  locked  us  in.  In 
the  morning  he  came  in  and  said  :  "You  will  all  want 
your  breakfast.  I  will  go  over  with  you  to  the 
' Eagle.'  I  suppose  you  all  board  there."  He  saw 
us  laughing  as  we  were  straightening  up,  and  asked : 
"What  was  the  fuss  among  you  last  night,  boys?" 
So  we  told  him  a  plain,  unvarnished  tale.  "Well, 
go  and  get  your  breakfast,  I  will  let  you  off  this 
time,  but  you  must  not  do  it  any  more,  boys."  I 


OLD   MEMORIES.  345 

told  him  if  there  was  any  damage  done,  he  must  get 
it  out  of  Russ  Ains worth,  and  put  it  into  the  public 
fund  as  "lodging  money."  Thurlow  Weed  was  then 
publishing  in  the  village  a  small  weekly  paper,  and 
made  a  note  of  the  affair,  under  the  caption  of:  WA 
Joke  on  Constable  Beach ;  Cheap  Lodgings  at  Cor 
poration  Expense." 

During  my  stay  in  the  region,  I  visited  the  town 
of  Mendon,  where  my  childhood  and  youth  were 
mostly  spent.  An  old  friend  invited  me  to  make 
my  home  at  his  house  while  I  remained  there.  And 
a  brother  in  Rochester,  formerly  a  resident  of  that 
place,  Mr.  S.  F.  Kiinball,  accompanied  me,  having 
sent  on  an  appointment  for  the  Sabbath.  We  were 
met  at  the  depot  by  Mr.  Daniel  Allen,  who  con 
veyed  us  to  the  village  of  East  Mendon.  This  little 
village  has  been  left  out  by  the  railroad  some  three 
miles  to  one  side,  which  slighting  has  appeared  to 
dry  up  all  the  sources  of  business  enterprise  in  this 
once  enterprising  little  burg.  In  our  days  of 
staging,  it  was  what  we  call  out  West  a  "right 
smart  place."  Two  or  three  daily  lines  of  stages 
changed  horses,  and  breakfasted  and  dined  here,  so 
that  a  ready  market  was  found  for  the  hay,  grain 
and  hotel  provision  the  fanners  of  the  region  had  to 


346       FROM    THE    STiAGE    COACH    TO    THE    PULPIT. 

dispose  of.  It  contained  four  stores  and  two  good 
Iwtels ; — now,  only  one  little  store  and  one  third  or 
fourth-class  hotel.  But  this  was  .not  the  most  dis 
heartening  change  visible.  The  religious  decline  was 
more  depressing  to  me  than  all  else.  The  two  meet 
ing  houses  were  standing  nearly  empty  every  Sabbath. 
The  Baptist  house,  where  crowded  congregations 
used  to  meet,  was  now  sparsely  filled,  and  the  same 
was  true  of  the  Presbyterian.  I  met  but  few  that  I 
recognized,  and  less,  far  less,  that  were  members  of 
either  of  these  churches  in  1828-1831.  What  few 
there  were  that  remembered  me  in  my  youth,  had 
some  romantic  story  or  frivolous  trick  of  mine  to 
relate,  to  my  chagrin.  Some  of  them  were  false, 
only  made  up  to  perpetuate  a  bad  record  of  youthful 
folly  and  nonsense.  Some  of  them  told  me  of  my 
pranks  in  youth,  that  their  fathers  and  mothers  had 
been  cognizant  of. 

On  Sunday  my  congregation  was  composed  of 
Baptists,  Presbyterians  and  Methodists,  who  had 
come  out  to  hear  "the  man  who  once-  was  the  fun- 
making  boy  of  Mendon,"  now  an  old  Baptist 
minister.  They  gave  me  a  fair  collection  for  the 
object  of  my  mission,  and  seemed  to  do  it  heartily, 
as  to  the  Lord.  On  Monday,  I  called  on  a  number 


OLD   MEMORIES  347 

of  old  friends,  and  then  returned  to  Rochester.  My 
temporary  home  while  in  the  city,  was  in  the  families 
of  A.  and  J.  A.  Hibbard,  where  I  experienced  as 
much  kindness  and  attention  as  I  could  expect  from 
my  own  children  in  sickness.  No  better  nursing  and 
care  could  be  bestowed  on  an  own  father.  Long 
shall  I  cherish  a  deep  sense  of  gratitude  to  God  for 
these  dear  friends,  and  many  others  in  the  "Flour 
City." 

My  stay  in  Mendon,  though  brief,  brought  to 
mind  frequently  the  person  and  character  of  one 
who  "being  dead,  yet  speaketh;"  one  who  occupied 
a  large  place  in  the  hearts  and  thoughts  of  the 
people,  and  who  waged  so  successful  a  warfare 
against  sin  and  the  devil,  in  this  and  adjoining 
places.  I  refer  to  Elder  Weaver. 


348   FROM  THE  STAGE  COACH  TO  THE  PULPIT. 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

ELDER   WEAVER. 

JTTVLDER,  Weaver — "Elder"  was  the  much  more 
-L-{  common  designation  of  ministers  then,  specially 
Baptist  ministers  —  was  a  power  wherever  he 
preached.  He  was  a  farmer  when  he  began  preach 
ing,  and  was,  strictly  speaking,  self-educated. 
What  he  acquired  was  acquired  from  few  books,  and 
without  all  the  aids  of  the  modern  school  system. 
He  had  very  noticeable  peculiarities.  He  was  a 
large,  bony,  angular,  rough-looking  man.  He  was 
what  we  boys  used  to  call  "cock-eyed,"  not  exactly 
cross-eyed,  but  the  opposite  of  that,  so  that  while  he 
seemed  to  be  looking  in  one  direction  he  would  really 
be  looking  in  another.  His  complexion  was  exceed 
ingly  dark,  and  his  bushy  whiskers  as  black  as  a 
raven.  These  chin  appendages  were  a  source  of 
complaint  on  the  part  of  his  friends.  Whiskers  on 
a  ministerial  face  were  not  as  orthodox  then  as  now. 
His  heavy  black  hair  he  used  to  wear  quite  long. 
He  often  preached  with  his  coat  off. 


ELDER   WEAVEB.  349 

His  praise  was  in  all  the  churches.  He  was 
eleven  years  pastor  of  the  Mendon  church.  When 
he  settled  there  the  church  numbered  twenty-one, 
and  worshiped  in  an  old  school-house,  called  the 
"boiling  spring,"  because  they  always  had  such 
powerful  devotional  meetings.  What  temporary 
place  of  worship  receives  any  such  epithet  now,  on 
account  of  the  meetings  in  it?  This  "boiling 
spring"  fact  is  as  high  praise,  well-nigh,  as  could 
be  bestowed  on  a  church.  Brother  Weaver  was  a 
young  man  when  he  came  to  Mendon.  He  was 
their  second  pastor,  and  this  was  his  second 
pastorate.  The  first  was  Jesse  Brayman,  who 
afterwards  apostatized  to  the  Universalists,  and  met 
his  end  by  going  into  a  well  which  caved  in  on  him. 
Elder  Weaver  was  ordained  at  Lysander,  Onon- 
dagua  County,  near  Syracuse,  a  much  larger  place 
than  Syracuse  at  that  time.  He  was  settled  there 
as  pastor  a  couple  of  years. 

There  were  seven  years  of  continuous  revival 
during  his  eleven  years'  pastorate  at  Mendon. 
There  were  five  years  in  which  additions  were  made 
to  the  church  by  baptism  at  every  communion. 
This  was  stated  in  his  farewell  sermon,  which 
I  went  seven  miles — from  Rush, — to  hear.  I  shall 
never  forget  the  opening  hymn,  on  that  day : 


350   FROM  THE  STAGE  COACH  TO  THE  PULPIT. 

"  Lord,  what  a  wretched  land  is  this, 

That  yields  us  no  supply. 
No  cheering  fruits,  nor  wholesome  trees 

Nor  streams  of  living  joy." 

He  was  a  great  singer.  Description  would  utterly 
fail  to  give  an  adequate  idea  of  him  as  a  singer. 
They  used  to  say  he  sang  everybody  into  the 
church.  His  singing  might  not  have  been  called 
"fine"  by  the  musical  critics,  but  it  was  fairly 
weighed  down  with  soul.  Negatively  it  was  not 
faulty,  but  positively  it  was  heavenly  to  every  devo 
tional  soul. 

He  went  down  to  New  York  to  help  the  pastor 
of  the  Broome-street  church,  Israel  Koborcls,  in  a 
protracted  meeting ;  and  pulled  off  his  coat  like  a 
workman  in  fact.  During  the  series  of  meetings, 
the  young  men  would  say  to  one  another  :  "Come, 
let's  go  down  to  Broome  street  to  meeting.  There 
is  a  man  there  who  preaches  like  a  man  a-mowing. 
He  pulls  off  his  coat." 

He  used  to  indulge  at  times  in  flights  of  real 
eloquence.  One  instance :  The  galleries  of  his 
church  were  crowded  with  young  people  one 
evening,  when  a  number  of  them  kept  up  a  constant 
whispering  and  tittering.  Turning  towards  them, 


REFLECTIONS HOME    AGAIN.  353 


CHAPTER  XXX. 

REFLECTIONS — HOME    AGAIN. 

¥HE  friends  and  churches  in  Rochester  responded 
cheerfully  to  the  wants  of  the  West.  The 
new  interest,  called  the  East  avenue  church,  did  a 
noble  thing,  also  the  Lake  avenue  church.  Both 
of  these  had  but  recently  been  organized.  The 
pastors  of  the  First  and  Second  churches  were 
absent,  but  promised  to  help  in  the  future.  At  a 
prayer-meeting  of  the  latter  church,  I  took  up  a 
collection  of  thirty  dollars,  and  a  brother  from 
Richmond,  Virginia,  gave  me  twenty-five  dollars. 
I  attended  the  Monroe  Association,  and  then  left 
for  my  Western  home,  expecting  to  make  short 
stops  on  the  way. 

Tn  looking  over  this  tour  and  visit,  it  is  one  of 
the  most  gratifying  to  me  personally  of  any  I  ever 
made — as  I  was  permitted  to  have  more  time  in  the 
immediate  communities  where  I  had  labored  most 
and  longest,  and  as  I  went  over  the  same  ground 


352       FROM   THE    STAGE    COACH   TO   THE    PULPIT. 

All  his  associates  loved  and  respected  him, 
though  they  were  not  blind  to  his  faults  and  did 
not  indorse  all  his  methods.  The  following  are 
among  his  cotemporaries  :  O.  C.  Comstock,  father 
of  the  missionary  ;  Robert  Powell,  Philander 
Kelsey,  Norman  Bentley,  I.  Roberts,  Marvin  Allen, 
Ichabod  Clark,  David  and  Jesse  Cor  win,  Alfred 
Bennett,  John  Peck,  cousin  of  J.  M.  Peck ;  Horace 
Griswold,  Aristarchus  Willey,  Joseph  and  Jesse 
Elliott,  Zenas  Case  and  Martin  Coleman.  These 
men,  all  ministers,  and  mostly  self-educated,  were 
raised  up  by  God  to  meet  the  then-existing  state  of 
things.  They  did  their  pioneer  duty  faithfully. 
Their  fragrant  memory  is  a  rich  heritage  to  the 
Church.  Let  their  names  forever  be  embalmed  in 
grateful  hearts  —  among  them,  let  Weaver  be 
remembered  gratefully  as  long  as  any.  He  was 
their  equal. 


REFLECTIONS — HOME    AGAIN.  353 


CHAPTEK  XXX. 

REFLECTIONS — HOME    AGAIN. 

¥HE  friends  and  churches  in  Rochester  responded 
cheerfully  to  the  wants  of  the  West.  The 
new  interest,  called  the  East  avenue  church,  did  a 
noble  thing,  also  the  Lake  avenue  church.  Both 
of  these  had  but  recently  been  organized.  The 
pastors  of  the  First  and  Second  churches  were 
absent,  but  promised  to  help  in  the  future.  At  a 
prayer-meeting  of  the  latter  church,  I  took  up  a 
collection  of  thirty  dollars,  and  a  brother  from 
Richmond,  Virginia,  gave  me  twenty-five  dollars. 
I  attended  the  Monroe  Association,  and  then  left 
for  my  Western  home,  expecting  to  make  short 
stops  on  the  way. 

In  looking  over  this  tour  and  visit,  it  is  one  of 
the  most  gratifying  to  me  personally  of  any  I  ever 
made — as  I  was  permitted  to  have  more  time  in  the 
immediate  communities  where  I  had  labored  most 
and  longest,  and  as  I  went  over  the  same  ground 


354      FllOM    THE    STAGE    COACH    TO    THE    PULPIT. 

where  I  had  spent  the  days  of  my  youth  and  the 
vigor  of  my  manhood,  and  where  I  had  a  degree  of 
success  under  the  good  Master's  guiding  hand  and 
the  influence  of  the  Spirit. 

This  reflection  constantly  impressed  itself  upon 
me,  "What  Divine  goodness  has  followed  you  all  the 
way  in  your  life,  even  in  the  days  of  your  guilt  as 
an  openly  profane  sinner  and  thoughtless  wanderer 
from,  a  despiser  of  Jesus  and  His  love  to  a  lost 
world!"  The  only  regret  was,  that  I  had  made 
such  poor  improvement  of  the  unnumbered  blessings 
showered  upon  my  pathway  for  over  forty  years  of 
Christian  life  and  public  ministry.  I  had  no  good 
reason  to  complain  in  other  respects.  I  had  been 
kindly  cared  for,  as  a  general  rule.  The  brethren 
had  always  treated  me  with  the  greatest  kindness 
and,  in  many  instances,  with  needed  leniency  and 
Christian  liberality.  As  I  passed  out  of  New  York, 
I  thought  that,  in  all  human  probability,  I  should 
never  see  this  land  of  my  nativity  again,  until  I 
should  see  it  in  its  renovated  condition,  when 
"purified  by  fire"  and  our  Jesus  shall  have  come 
"the  second  time  without  sin  unto  salvation."  I 
am  now  an  old  man,  and  cannot  expect  to  come 
back  again  to  this  goodly  old  State,  I  thought,  that 


REFLECTIONS HOME    AGAIN.  355 

gave  me  birth  and  a  field  to  labor  in ;  and  so  I  said 
"Farewell,"  as  I  gazed  on  her  green  hills  to  enter 
Pennsylvania  on  my  homeward-bound  journey  to 
Kansas. 

I  spent  one  Sabbath  at  Cold  water  and  at 
Kinderhook,  and  arrived  safely  in  Burlington  in 
time  to  vote  for  Ulyssus  S.  Grant.  The  contract 
for  building  the  church  edifice  was  made  and  the 
work  commenced,  to  be  completed  in  the  February 
following,  but  the  severity  of  the  winter  prevented. 

The  first  week  of  January,  1873,  was  observed, 
as  is  often  the  case,  by  a  union  of  all  the  churches 
in  the  place  in  a  meeting  for  special  prayer  in 
behalf  of  sinners.  Some  indications  of  the  Divine 
presence  were  manifested  and  the  meetings  con 
tinued.  About  this  time,  I  went  to  Junction  City 
to  attend  a  public  religious  meeting ;  and  being 
earnestly  solicited  by  Brother  Greene  and  his 
church  to  remain  and  assist  in  conducting  some 
special  services,  with  a  view  of  awakening  an 
interest  in  the  things  of  salvation  among  the  impeni 
tent,  I  consented.  The  meetings  were  protracted, 
day  and  night,  for  three  or  four  weeks,  with  good 
results  to  many  of  the  church  and  to  a  few 
impenitent  persons,  when  my  health  became  quite 
impaired,  and  I  felt  it  my  duty  to  return  home. 


356   FROM  THE  STAGE  COACH  TO  THE  PULPIT. 

[The  preaching  was  most  faithful  and  spiritual, 
and  yet  the  results  were  not  what  we  all  had 
expected  to  see.  There  were  some  visible  causes 
to  prevent  the  accomplishment  of  the  greatest  good. 
The  weather  was,  most  of  the  time,  severely  cold. 
The  house  could  not  be  made  comfortable.  Many, 
who  would  otherwise  have  been  glad  to  come, 
remained  away  in  consequence.  The  hidden  causes 
of  defeat  in  the  case  were  undoubtedly  still  more 
potent,  if  possible — at  least,  it  was  not  for  lack 
of  able,  faithful  preaching  and  personal  effort  at 
the  time,  that  scores  were  not  converted.  May 
the  seed  sown  in  that  inclement  time  yet  bring 
forth  a  rich  harvest. — ED.] 


On  my  return  home,  I  found  the  union  meeting 
quite  disturbed  by  a  spirit  of  sectarian  selfishness, 
quite  out  of  character  with  the  loud  professions 
of  love  of  "union"  when  the  protracted  effort  was 
begun.  One  element  of  discord  grew  out  of  the 
views  of  one  class  of  Christians  in  regard  to  the 
doctrine  of  personal  holiness,  this  being  made  the 
"all  in  all;"  and  another  bone  of  contention  was 
the  control  of  the  meeting,  which  was  assumed  by 
one  denomination.  This  had  alienated  the  other 
churches  till'  it  was  thought  best  to  separate,  and 
let  those  work  together  who  could  in  the  spirit  of 
the  Gospel  of  peace.  The  work  then  took  a  new 


REFLECTIONS — HOME    AGAIN.  357 

impetus,  and  continued  till  late  in  the  spring.  A 
large  number  were  reclaimed  who  had  become  very 
remiss  in  religious  duty,  and  a  number  of  the 
impenitent  converted  to  Jesus. 

Just  as  the  meeting  was  at  its  height,  I  received  a 
telegram  from  Central  City,  Colorado,  urging  me 
to  come  to  the  assistance  of  Eeverend  D.  S. 
Bowker,  up  in  the  mountains  of  gold  and  silver. 
I  responded  in  person.  The  great  meeting  in 
Denver,  under  the  management  of  Eeverend  E.  P. 
Hammond,  had  been  in  progress  some  time  when 
I  arrived  there,  on  my  way  up  to  Central.  I 
stopped  only  long  enough  to  take  the  next  train, 
but  long  enough  to  see  that  God  was  in  the  place 
in  very  deed,  doing  great  things,  whereof  all 
Christians  were  glad.  Denver  had  not  entirely 
recovered  from  the  "hardness"  it  had  acquired 
during  the  early  gold  fever  days ;  so  that  a  pro 
tracted  meeting  could  not  be  expected  to  have  such 
sway  as  it  would  in  a  more  moral  and  church-going 
town. 

However,  in  proportion  to  the  organized  religious 
forces  in  the  city,  undoubtedly  as  much  was  accom 
plished  in  Denver  during  the  weeks  of  Mr. 
Hammond's  stay  as  in  Keokuk,  Iowa,  in  Blooming- 


358   FROM  THE  STAGE  COACH  TO  THE  PULPIT. 

ton,  Illinois,  or  Lawrence,  Kansas.  The  city  was 
shaken  from  center  to  circumference.  The  largest 
hall  in  the  place  was  hardly  sufficient  to  hold  the 
crowds  that  pressed  to  hear  the  Word  of  Life 
preached  and  sung.  The  meeting  held  by  special 
request  of  the  proprietor  in  the  most  spacious  and 
notorious  dance-hall  in  the  place  one  Sunday  after 
noon,  when  it  was  estimated  that  of  the  thousand 
present  fully  nine-tenths  arose  in  response  to  the 
different  invitations  for  prayer,  is  one  never  to  be 
forgotten  by  those  who  had  the  privilege  of  being 
present.  Mr.  Hammond  himself  regarded  it  as 
one  of  the  most  solemn  and  powerful  meetings  he 
ever  attended.  He  was  in  the  best  of  spirit  for 
conducting  such  a  strange  meeting,  being  fresh 
bodily  and  being  sustained  by  many  earnest,  praying 
Christians.  The  out-dbor  meetings  in  Denver  also 
were  remarkable,  many  of  them  especially  so  in 
point  of  numbers  and  interest.  Being  present  at 
nearly  every  meeting  of  the  whole  series  during 
Mr.  Hammond's  stay,  having  been  invited  by 
Bro.  Scott  to  assist  in  the  meetings,  I  know  that, 
under  the  circumstances,  speculation  and  gambling 
being  rife  in  the  city  and  a  general  spirit  of  world- 
liness  pervading  society,  the  revival  of  1873  was  a 


REFLECTIONS HOME    AGAIN.  359 

great  success.     Hundreds  were   renewed  in  spirit, 
and  became  new  men  and  women  in  Christ. 


[The  revival  spirit  extended  to  Georgetown, 
Central  and  Golden,  high  up  in  the  mountains,  and 
to  Boulder,  Evans,  Greeley,  Colorado  Springs  and 
Pueblo,  on  the  lower  level.  When  we  went  to 
Central,  we  found  Brother  Stimson  hard  at  work, 
with  all  the  elasticity  of  spirit  and  hopefulness  of  a 
young  man,  in  a  series  of  meetings  at  the  new 
chapel  of  the  Baptist  church,  Brother  Bowker 
pastor.  Whoever  has  labored,  even  for  a  short 
time,  in  a  mining  town,  knows  something  of  the 
hardness  of  the  field.  A  mining  town  differs  from 
all  others.  Of  all  difficult  places  to  impress 
religiously,  such  a  town  is  the  most  difficult ;  so 
conceded  by  those  of  wide  experience.  Anything 
for  the  greatest  good,  that  is  lawful  and  right,  being 
Father  Stimson's  motto,  he  consented  to  the  plan 
proposed  of  discontinuing  his  meetings  in  the 
Baptist  house,  and  going  in,  for  the  time  of  his  stay 
at  least,  with  Brother  Hammond.  So,  although  the 
field  didn't  seem  entirely  clear,  he  took  his  place 
as  a  "high-private,"  and  worked  with  all  the  sim 
plicity  and  earnestness  of  a  young  convert. 

After  Brother  Hammond's  short  stay  in  Central 
was  over,  Father  Stimson  had  so  endeared  himself 
to  the  people  and  commended  himself  to  the  leaders, 
that  he  was  invited  to  remain  and  conduct  the  union 
meetings.  This  he  did  as  long  as  they  continued 
"union"  meetings  proper,  much  to  the  satisfaction 
of  those  responsible  in  the  conduct  of  the  effort, 


360      FROM   THE    STAGE    COACH   TO   THE    PULPIT. 

and  to  the  awakening  of  sinners  and  the  edification 
of  the  saints.  The  number  of  the  latter  in  pro 
portion  to  the  population  was  not  very  great,  and 
consequently  their  edification  not  a  very  long  work. 
The  awakening  of  the  sinners  was  a  much  more 
tedious  process.  At  the  conclusion  of  the  union 
effort,  Brother  Stimson  began  meetings  again  in 
Brother  Bowker's  chapel,  which  he  conducted  for  a 
number  of  days,  accomplishing  no  little  good,  and 
leaving  a  memory  most  fragrant  among  all  good 
people.  Mr.  Hammond  spoke  to  us  in  the  highest 
terms  of  Father  Stimson,  whom  he  met  for  the  first 
time  during  this  winter's  campaign  in  Colorado. 
He  liked  his  spirit  and  admired  his  ability.  It  was 
on  his  strongly  expressed  advice  on  the  subject  of  a 
suitable  leader  for  the  meeting  in  Central,  as  he  was 
about  to  go,  that  Father  Stimson  was  unanimously 
selected. 

From  this  lofty  mountain  town  Father  Stimson 
descended  to  the  plain,  and  again  found  himself  in 
Denver,  where  he  was  at  once  comfortably  housed 
in  Brother  Scott's  hospitable  home,  and  where  he 
found  a  most  congenial  atmosphere  in  which  to  work, 
side  by  side,  with  his  young  co -laborer  of  other 
days  in  Leaven  worth  and  Kansas.  The  great  union 
meetings  in  the  evening  at  "Governor's  Guard"  Hall, 
had  been  discontinued  on  Mr.  Hammond's  departure 
for  the  mountain  region  of  Central ;  but  Brother 
Stimson  found  a  good  state  of  revival  interest  in  the 
meetings  conducted  by  Brother  Scott  in  his  new 
lecture  room  just  opened  for  worship.  Here  he 
remained  and  labored  with  great  acceptance,  pleas 
ure  and  profit,  for  more  than  a  week.  The  interest 
in  the  meeting  increased  during  his  stay.  To  the 
fact  of  this  experienced  help  from  Brother  Stimson, 


REFLECTIONS — HOME   AGAIN.  361 

both  timely  and  cordially  rendered — whoever  saw 
him  when  he  wasn't  ready  .to  work  in  a  revival? — 
and  to  the  fact  of  the  Christian  shrewdness  of 
Brother  Scott  as  a  leader,  is  largely  due  the  great 
additional  strength  acquired  by  the  Baptist  cause  in 
Denver  during  the  winter  and  spring  of  1873.  His 
coming  to  Brother  Scott  at  the  time  he  descended 
from  Central,  was  like  "the  coming  of  Titus." 

Afier  staying  some  days,  and  helping  most 
efficiently  in  gathering  up  the  crumbs  that  nothing 
might  be  lost,  Father  Stimson  returned  home  with 
the  consciousness  of  having  helped  the  Denver 
pastor  do  successfully  that  most  difficult  work, — 
close  a  long  and  deeply  interesting  protracted  meet 
ing,  in  a  way  to  counteract  none  of  the  good 
accomplished,  and  bearing  with  him  the  blessings  of 
hundreds  who  had  met  him  for  the  first  time  during 
this  working  visit.  He  began  at  once  to  complete 
the  meeting  house  at  Burlington,  and  to  make  the 
arrangements  for  dedication.  A  few  months  were 

O 

sufficient,  and  the  neat  little  structure  was  added  to 
the  monuments  of  Father  Stimson's  zeal,  enterprise 
and  faith.  To  build  a  little  house  in  a  little  place  is 
often  more  of  an  undertaking  than  to  build  a  large 
edifice  in  a  large  place.  There  is  so  little  capital 
to  work  with — there  are  so  few  really  independent 
workers — the  pastor  has  often  to  create  and  sustain 
all  the  enthusiasm,  besides  doing  three-fourths  of 
the  planning  and  engineering,  not  to  mention  the 
actual  manual  labor.  The  enterprise  at  Burlington 
was  no  exception.  It's  no  reflection  on  the  one  or 
two  male  workers  and  the  six  or  seven  poor  widows 
in  the  church,  to  say  that  if  it  had  not  been  for 
Brother  Stimson,  or  if  his  place  had  not  been 
supplied  by  some  equally  hopeful  and  courageous 


362   FROM  THE  STAGE  COACH  TO  THE  PULPIT. 

pastor,  the  church  would  not  now  have  a  house  of 
worship  or  any  immediate  prospect  of  one.  And  in 
the  midst  of  hard  times  the  outlook  would  not  be 
very  cheering.  A  fitting  close  of  an  earnest,  practi 
cal  life,  is  the  beautiful  little  chapel  at  Burlington, 
an  account  of  the  dedication  of  which  we  copy  from 
the  Kansas  Evangel,  a  paper  which  in  its  infancy 
has  done  much  for  the  cause  in  Kansas,  and  which 
is  one  of  the  brightest  stars  of  hope  for  the  future. 
—ED.] 


The  new  Baptist  meeting  house  at  Burlington  was  dedicated  on 
Sabbath,  July  20th.  It  was  a  lovely  day,  and  every  arrangement  was 
complete.  No  apologies  for  faiiure  had  to  be  made.  A  novel  plan  was 
hit  upon,  which  we  will  charge  up  against  Brother  Stimson,  pastor, 
for  conducting  the  services.  We  will  say  to  begin  with,  it  was  a 
success.  It  was  understood  by  all  the  denominations  in  the  place  (and 
they  have  as  many  as  any  tawn-4n  Kansas,)  that  the  Baptists  would 
monopolize  the  whole  Sabbath  services  of  the  town.  Accordingly, 
appointments  were  made  for  two  services  at  the  same  hour,  both 
morning  and  evening,  one  at  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  and  the 
ministers  to  alternate  in  the  services.  Brother  Gunn,  of  Atchison,  and 
the  Topeka  pastor  were  the  preachers.  The  congregations  were  large, 
and  Brother  Gunn's  sermons,  at  least,  were  good. 

The  new  church  is  a  fine,  proud  structure,  32x55  feet  in  size,  with 
arched  ceiling  and  well  furnished  and  located.  A  new  organ,  chande 
liers,  a  cosy  orchestra,  fine  pulpit,  baptistry,  and  carpets  for  the  aisles, 
make  up  some  of  the  furniture.  It  is,  in  brief,  the  neatest  church  in 
the  place.  The  church  membership  is  only  about  twenty,  and  none  of 
them  wealthy ;  the  most  of  them  poor.  As  we  listened  to  the  story  of 
their  struggles  to  build  this  house  for  the  Lord,  we  could  but  thank 
God  that  He  had  given  to  His  cause  there  such  noble  representatives. 

Brother  Stimson,  though  having  reached  his  three  score  years  and 
ten,  is  still  brave  as  a  warrior,  and  is  hardly  conscious  of  his  failing 
strength.  Through  his  efforts,  principally,  the  work  has  been  done. 
What  he  could  not  get  others  to  do,  he  did  himself.  The  high  esteem 
in  which  he  is  held  by  the  community  gave  him  courage,  and  enabled 
him  to  succeed. 


REFLECTIONS HOME    AGAIN.  303 

We  must  mention  in  particular,  among  other  faithful  workers, 
Brother  William  Wigston,  a  mason  by  trade,  who  was  Brother  Stim- 
son's  right  hand  man.  Before  he  came  to  Burlington,  he  took  the 
contract  to  build  the  abutments  of  a  bridge  across  the  Ohio  river.  He 
then  promised  the  Lord  that  whatever  he  made  out  of  the  contract, 
above  common  wages,  he  would  give  to  Him.  The  Lord  blessed  him. 
After  finishing  the  job,  he  decided  to  come  to  Burlington.  Before 
reaching  there,  he  sent  forward  a  beautiful  Bible,  hymn  book  and 
communion  set.  True  to  his  promise,  when  he  arrived  he  at  once  put 
$500  cash  into  this  meeting  house,  besides  building  the  foundation  and 
putting  in  the  baptistry.  He  is  now  sexton,  and  delights  in  giving 
much  of  his  time  to  the  service  of  the  Lord.  Would  that  our  churches 
had  more  of  such  men. 

At  the  close  of  the  morning  service,  the  pastor  read  a  statement  rela 
tive  to  the  financial  condition  of  the  church.  It  was  found  that  the 
house  had  cost  $2,800,  and  that  a  balance  of  f  800  remained  unprovided 
for.  Collections  and  pledges  were  taken  sufficient  to  reduce  this 
amount  to  $500. 

We  left  this  little  band  hopeful,  having  received  a  fresh  inspiration 
to  work  from  the  example  set  by  the  Burlington  Church. 


364      FROM    THE    STAGE    COACH   TO    THE    PULPIT. 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 


MY   VIEWS    OF    THE    INDIANS  -  MISCELLANY. 


I  came  to  Kansas,  I  had  an  exalted 
idea  of  the  character  of  the  American  Indian 
as  a  noble  specimen  of  human  nature.  In  some 
respects  he  really  is  so  ;  as  for  instance,  in  his  native 
condition,  as  a  muscular  and  well  built  animal, 
capable  of  great  endurance,  and  a  "good  feeder."  He 
has  intellect  sufficient  to  be  cunning,  and  to  make  a 
first-class  tyrant  in  any  situation  where  he  has  the 
chance.  With  an  Indian,  "might  is  right."  Hence 
all  the  females,  in  every  tribe  I  have  seen  or  heard 
of,  the  mothers,  wives  and  daughters  are  the  most 
abject  slaves,  compelled  to  do  all  the  drudgery  in 
the  wigwam  and  on  the  hunt  ;  see  to  all  the  ponies, 
bring  all  the  wood  and  water,  dress  all  the  game, 
tan  all  the  buffalo  hides,  and  take  care  of  the 
papooses  besides.  A  professed  Christian  Indian  acts 
like  all  the  rest  in  these  respects.  The  Osage 
Indians  are  doubtless  the  best  developed  specimens 


MY    VIEWS    OF    THE    INDIANS.  365 

in  a  physical  point  of  view,  of  all  the  tribes  in  Kan 
sas.  And  they  are  an  unrelenting,  revengeful  set  of 
savages,  never  forgiving  a  real  or  supposed  injury. 

I  once  had  occasion  to  be  among  them  three  or 
four  days,  and  got  perfectly  cured  of  all  my  notions 
of  Indian  superiority,  Fenimore  Cooper  and  the 
Quaker  peace  agents  to  the  contrary  notwithstand 
ing.  I  shall  waste  but  few  more  tears  over  their 
condition,  at  my  time  of  life.  I  hope  they  will  all 
inherit  "happy  hunting  grounds"  when  they  are 
through  with  the  chase  here.  Only  I  am  thankful 
that  I  am  not  called  to  labor  to  prepare  them  for 
the  enjoyment  of  those  grounds.  I  don't, think  I 
ever  had  the  faith  to  work  forty  years  and  see  no 
fruit  of  my  labor.  The  Modocs  are  no  exception  to 
the  general  Indian  rule. 

A  gentlemanly  Indian  agent  had  invited  a  number 
of  friends  to  go  with  him  and  his  escort  to  the 
Osage  Reserve,  as  he  was  going  to  pay  the  annuities. 
So,  several  ladies  and  gentlemen  of  us  started  on  a 
pleasure  trip.  Probably  none  of  them  will  ever 
want  to  go  on  a  similar  pleasure  excursion,  espe 
cially  the  ladies.  If  you  refuse  to  eat  with  an 
Indian  when  he  has  made  a  feast,  he  won't  forgive 
the  insult  without  a  large  present  of  some  kind. 


366      FROM   THE    STAGE    COACH   TO   THE   PULPIT. 

The  feast  on  this  occasion  was  dried  buffalo  meat, 
strong  coffee,  and  biscuits  made  of  the  best  of  flour 
and  baked  before  the  fire  on  sheet-iron  pans.  These 
biscuits  were  the  only  thing  we  relished,  and  we 
ceased  to  relish  them  after  we  saw.  the  squaws  mix 
them  up.  We  never  took  a  second  meal  with  as 
much  appetite  as  the  first.  The  dried  meat  is  cut 
into  fine  pieces,  put  into  a  kettle  and  then  boiled  in 
water,  thickened  with  flour  till  it  is  of  the  consis 
tency  of  soup.  This  is  turned  into  a  large  pan, 
around  which  all  the  company  sit  on  the  grass,  and 
help  themselves  by  dishing  out  the  mixture  with 
their  spoons.  No  plates.  Indians,  white  men  and 
women,  compose  the  company.  No  squaws.  The 
coffee  is  dipped  off  as  you  need  it  in  little  tin  cups. 
After  the  Indians  (squaws  are  simply  squaws)  and 
the  guests  are  served,  the  squaws  and  papooses  have 
their  meal,  if  there  is  any  left — and  by  eating  all, 
including  coffee-grounds,  no  matter  how  much  is 
left.  Then  the  dogs  come  up  and  wash  the  dishes, 
and  all  is  ready  for  the  next  meal. 

I  wished  to  post  the  ladies  of  the  company  on  all 
the  facts  of  Indian  life,  and  told  them  of  the  assis 
tance  the  dogs  rendered  at  each  meal.  They  at 
once  begged  to  be  excused  from  appearing  at  table 


MY    VIEWS    OF    THE    INDIANS.  367 

a  second  time.  We  excused  them ;  but  if  the 
Indians  did,  we  never  knew  it.  They  inquired  for 
the  "Can  a  mah  popo" — the  pretty  women.  One 
of  the  party  told  a  lie  by  saying  that  they  were  sick 
in  the  wagons.  At  which  the  chief  said :  "Eat 
too  much,  ha?"  Our  friend  nodded  "yes."  I 
forgave  the  lie,  and  that  was  just  as  well  as  if 
Father  Schoemaker,  the  Catholic  priest,  had  done 
it.  The  women  certainly  were  sick  at  their 
stomachs  whenever  they  thought  of  eating  with 
the  Indians. 

This  Father  Schoemaker  has  been  among  them 
over  forty  years.  He  is  a  quaint  character,  old  but 
vigorous.  He  belongs  to  the  Jesuits.  He  has 
given  names  to  streams  and  other  natural  objects 
in  the  region  of  the  Mission,  and  has  built  some 
very  substantial  buildings  for  the  uses  of  his  church ; 
but,  although  the  Mission  has  been  established 
forty-eight  years,  and  every  possible  appliance  has 
been  used  to  civilize  and  educate  and  Jesuitize  this 
tribe,  yet,  up  to  this  time,  not  the  first  son  or 
daughter  of  the  Osages  has  been  converted  to 
Christianity,  or  even  to  Catholicism !  I  mean  a 
full-blooded  Osage.  A  few  French  traders  have 
been  adopted  into  the  tribe,  and  have  married  Osage 


368      FiiOM    THE    STAGE    COACH    TO    THE    PULPIT. 

women.  Their  children  have  become  Catholics,  but 
not  civilized.  If  the  gray-haired  monk  of  a  priest 
who  hums  his  Catholic  songs  about  his  secluded 
home  in  the  forest,  takes  any  comfort  at  the  retro 
spect  of  a  long  life  spent  among  the  Indian  tribe 
with  the  results  such  as  I  have  indicated,  he  is  not 
begrudged  it  by  me.  I  wouldn't  disturb  his  dream. 
The  Government  has  been  induced  to  give  this  old 
man  a  section  of  land  for  his  services  at  the  Osage 
Mission,  now  in  Neosho  County  !  It  is  understood 
he  began  his  labors  among  the  tribe  by  telling  them 
that  Jesus  was  a  great  war  Chief,  and  his  apostles 
"braves,"  who  accomplished  great  exploits  in  the 
slaughter  of  their  enemies.  The  results  have  been 
little  or  no  more  cheering  where  the  Gospel  has 
been  preached  to  them,  I  am  compelled  to  say. 

Efforts  have  been  made  to  educate  them  in  the 
rudiments — reading,  writing  and  arithmetic;  and 
yet,  not  one  in  five  hundred  can  do  the  simplest 
example  in  addition  or  subtraction.  Still,  this  old 
Jesuit  must  be  made  a  beneficiary  of  the  Govern 
ment  to  the  amount  of  several  hundred  thousand 
dollars  in  all !  I  blush  to  say  that  the  effects  of 
the  Protestant  labors  among  the  Indians  have  not 
been  much  more  encouraging.  The  mission  among 


MY   VIEWS    OF   THE   INDIANS.  369 

the  Sacs  and  Fox  tribes  by  the  Methodists,  and 
the  Delawares  by  the  Baptists,  have  been  a  little 
more  successful  than  such  efforts  generally.  Kev. 
G.  W.  Pratt,  now  of  Leaven  worth,  accomplished  a 
good  work  in  the  latter  tribe,  as  long  as  he  remained 
among  them.  The  same  is  true  of  the  Ottawas,  for 
whom  Father  Meeker,  a  godly  man,  labored  for 
thirty  years.*  But,  as  the  white  man  came  in  with 
whisky  and  its  fore-runner,  beer,  the  whole  tribe 
apostatized  to  drunkenness  and  a  life  of  laziness ; 
and,  although  the  Baptist  denomination  and  the 
United  States  Government  expended  great  sums  of 
money  to  civilize  and  Christianize  them,  all  that 
remains  is  the  remnant  of  the  school  property  at 
Ottawa  and  a  little  quarter-blood  Indian  girl,  who 
hears  her  voice  echo  through  those  halls  of  "lite 
rature  and  science." 

If  the  missionaries  now  in  Kansas,  working 
industriously  and  s elf-deny ingly  among  the  enter 
prising  immigrants  in  our  new  cities  and  settlements 
which  will  soon  be  an  honor  to  the  nation  and 
humanity,  were  to  make  no  more  permanent,  prac- 


*  The  press  that  S.  S.  Prouty  used  in  printing  the  Neosho  Valley 
Register,  in  1859,  was  brought  to  this  country  by  Father  Meeker, 
forty  years  ago 


370       FROM    THE    STAGE    COACH    TO    THE    PULPIT. 

tical  impression  on  the  white  inhabitants,  the 
societies  they  represent  would  withhold  all  support. 
They  don't  come  far  short  of  it,  in  some  cases,  now. 

The  philosophy  of  the  Indian  nature,  I  do  not 
attempt  to  explain.  I  do  know  this  much  : 

First,  The  Indian  has  no  relish  for  intellectual 
improvement  or  moral  advancement.  He  loves 
whisky,  tobacco  and  all  such  vile  stimulants. 

Second,  He  will  not  work,  under  any  circum 
stances.  Even  those  who  have  been  claimed  as 
partially  civilized,  will  not  labor. 

Third,  The  large  majority  of  the  Government 
agencies  among  them  have  only  tended  to  increase 
their  savage,  hopeless  life. 

Fourth,  The  exceptions  found  to  the  above  esti 
mate  of  Indian  character  are  persons  who  have  some 
white  blood  in  their  veins,  like  Eli  S.  Parker,  a 
noble  man.  Show  me  an  exception  among  pure- 
bloods  !  In  view  of  all  I  have  seen  and  learned  of 
the  Indian,  I  am  half  inclined  to  believe  in  Darwin : 
at  least  I  should  not  have  blamed  him  much  if  he 
had  come  into  personal  contact  with  the  Indian 
before  bringing  out  his  "development  theory." 

Fifth,  Gratitude  is  not  found  in  the  Indian's 
vocabulary,  n6r  is  it  an  element  of  his  nature.  An 


MISCELLANY.  371 

Indian  never  considers  himself  under  obligations  to 
any  one. 

I  have  entertained  Indians  in  the  most  hospitable 
manner  I  was  capable  of  under  the  circumstances, 
giving  him  the  best  my  home  afforded,  and  then  in 
a  few  days  called  on  him  and  remained  over  night, 
and  in  the  morning  have  paid  a  bill  of  two  dollars 
and  fifty  cents  for  the  entertainment. 


THE  MAN  WHO  FOUND  OUT  THAT  HE  COULD 
ANSWER  HIS  OWN  PRAYERS. 

Deacon  W ,  of  B ,  in  Western  New  York, 

a  good  Christian  man,  but  somewhat  formal  and 
prolix  in  his  family  devotions,  was  more  orthodox 
than  practical  in  his  Christianity.  One  morning  while 
at  family  prayer,  there  came  to  the  door  a  poor  man 
with  a  bag  under  his  arm,  to  get  from  the  deacon  a 
small  grist  of  wheat  for  his  needy  family.  It  was 
a  time  of  great  scarcity  in  breadstuffs.  While 
listening  to  the  deacon's  supplication,  which  included 
among  other  good  things,  a  request  that  the  Lord 
would  remember  the  poor  in  the  place  that  were  in 
want  of  bread,  his  courage  and  confidence  grew 
apace.  His  soul  was  filled  with  gratitude  and  hope, 


372      FROM   THE    STAGE    COACH   TO   THE   PULPIT. 

as  he  stood  and  listened  to  the  words  of  the  deacon : 
"Now,  O  Lord,  open  thy  hand,  and  in  thy  ever 
liberal  Providence,  supply  the  wants  of  the  needy, 
feed  the  hungry  and  clothe  the  naked.  Thou  canst 
do  it,  Almighty  Father,  as  giving  dost  not  impov 
erish  Thee.  There  are  many  in  our  community 
sick,  and  many  poor  that  are  suffering  for  bread. 
O,  Lord,  supply  them  in  the  riches  of  thy  fullness, 
for  Christ's  sake.  Amen." 

Poor  Mr.  J ,  who  had  stood  at  the  door  all 

this  time,  could  but  weep  as  he  heard  the  words  of 
the  deacon,  a  member  with  him  of  the  same  church, 
and  he  said  to  himself,  "I  shall  get  the  wheat;"  at 
the  same  time  thanking  God  that  he  belonged  to  a 
church  that  had  such  a  sympathizing  deacon.  He 
rapped  on  the  door  and  was  admitted.  After 
answering  kind  inquiries  about  his  sick  wife  and 
little  ones,  he  made  known  the  object  of  his  visit — 
he  wished  to  get  a  grist  of  wheat.  "Well,  well, 

Brother  J ,  I  should  like  to  accommodate  you, 

but  wheat  is  two  dollars  a  bushel  in  Rochester,  and 
I  think  I  must  raise  some  money  in  a  few  days.  I 
am  sorry  I  can't  help  you  in  your  time  of  great 
want  while  your  family  is  sick ;  but  I  wish  you 
could  get  it  somewhere  else."  Mr.  J went 


MISCELLANY.  373 

away  with  a  heavy  heart,  having  suddenly  lost  his 
confidence  in  the  deacon's  sincerity. 

A  little  fair-haired,  black-eyed  grandson  that  had 
been  kneeling  with  his  grand-parent  and  heard  him 
pray  for  the  poor,  looked  up  in  his  face  and  said, 
"Well,  Grandpa,  if  I  could  have  answered  my 
prayer  this  morning  as  easy  as  you  could,  I  would 

have  given  Mr.  J a  bag  full  of  wheat." 

"Would  you,  Charley?'5  inquired  the  old  man. 
"Yes,  I  would,  because  that  is  what  you  asked  the 

Lord  to  do."  « Call  him  back,  Charley."  Mr.  J 

returned,  and  the  deacon  handed  him  the  granary 
key  and  said,  "Go  to  the  barn  and  fill  your  bag, 

Brother  J ,  and  if  you  want  anything  while  your 

family  is  sick,  come  here  and  get  it.  I  have  just 
found  out  that  I  can  answer  my  own  prayers,  and 
shall  endeavor  to  do  it  the  remainder  of  my  short 
life." 

On  Sabbath  he  arose  in  his  place  in  the  meeting 
house,  after  sermon,  and  asked  the  pastor  if  he 
could  have  the  privilege  of  speaking.  Of  course 
consent  was  given,  and  he  related  the  facts  as  above 
stated,  and  concluded  by  saying,  "I  have  just  learned 
by  this  incident  that  God  has  so  arranged  His  divine 
economy  as  to  enable  me  and  others  to  answer  our 
own  prayers  in  five  cases  out  of  eight." 


374       FROM   THE    STAGE    COACH   TO   THE    PULPIT. 
A   SHORT  WAY  WITH   A   SKEPTIC. 

An  old  infidel  asked  me  once  to  explain  the 
reason  why  God  made  the  children  of  Israel  travel 
forty  years  in  the  wilderness,  when  they  could  have 
crossed  to  the  promised  land  in  four  days  and  a  half  ? 
I  told  him  I  would  think  the  matter  over,  and  call 
on  him  with  a  solution  of  the  matter  hi  a  few  days, 
and  then,  turning  on  my  heel,  said  I  would  also 
give  him  a  question  to  answer  at  the  same  time,  or 
now.  "It  is  this :  Anatomical  professors  tell  us 
that  the  canals  in  the  human  body  are  about  nine 
yards  in  length.  Now,  I  want  you  to  explain  to  me 
why  they  should  be  crossing  backward  and  for 
ward  through  the  chest  and  abdomen  to  twenty- 
seven  feet  in  length,  when  one  straight  canal  about 
twenty-two  inches  long  would  have  answered?" 
"Well,  Elder,  you  have  got  me.  I  will  quit  if  you 
will." 

THE  EFFECT  OF  A  PERSONAL  APPLICATION  OF  THE 
TRUTH. 

I  went  to  assist  a  Brother  S in  Western  New 

York,  where  a  deacon  had  struck  a  neighbor's  hog 
and  killed  it ;  but  he  would  not  confess  it  or  pay 
the  damage.  The  pastor  and  best  members  of  the 


MlsPELLAXY.  375 

church  were  greatly  grieved,  all  being  confident  that 
he  was  guilty.  But  it  could  not  he  proved,  as  two 
trials  had  been  held — one  by  the  church  and  one  by 
a  legal  court — all  to  no  purpose.  The  deacon  was 
quite  officious,  always  in  the  front  seat,  ready  to 
exhort,  to  sing  or  pray ;  and  every  time  he  would 
begin  to  speak  or  pray,  the  man  whose  hog  the 
deacon  had  killed  would  get  up  and  go  out,  along 
with  a  number  of  personal  friends  who  sympathized 
with  him  in  his  hatred  of  the  deacon.  By  and  by, 
when  the  deacon  was  through,  they  would  all  come 
back  and  take  their  seats.  I  had  heard  of  these 
movements  before  from  a  minister  who  had  been 
there  on  a  visit,  and  gone  away  mortified  at  the 
ill  success  of  the  effort  made,  and  indignant  at  the 
obstinate  deacon. 

I  got  there  on  Saturday  afternoon,  and  took  a 
survey  of  the  situation  at  the  evening  meeting.  I 
was  satisfied  from  what  I  saw,  who  the  man,  Deacon 

S ,  was.     That  night  I  found  the  pastor  and  his 

wife  all  weighed  down  like  a  cart  with  sheaves,  on 
account  of  the  state  of  things  in  the  church. 
Sabbath  came  and  passed,  with  about  the  same 
results.  The  evening  was  approaching,  and  the 
thought  of  having  one  man  block  up  the  way  of 


376      FROM    THE    STAGE    COACH    TO    THE    PULPIT. 

salvation  to  a  church,  while  sinners  were  looking  on 
with  a  degree  of  triumph  over  the  inconsistency  and 
open  wickedness  of  one  of  the  members,  pressed 
upon  me  with  great  weight.  The  question  had 
become  a  serious  one  with  me,  "Can  I  do  or  say 
anything  to  make  this  faulty  brother  do  right,  and 
remove  this  awful  stone  of  stumbling?  What  shall 
I  preach  about  ?  "  I  finally  fixed  upon  this  passage 
in  the  fifty-first  Psalm,  verses  10,  11,12  and  13  : 
"Create  in  me  a  clean  heart,  O  God,  and  renew 
a  right  spirit  within  me.  Cast  me,  not  from  thy 
presence ;  and  take  not  thy  Holy  Spirit  from  me. 
Restore  unto  me  the  joy  of  thy  salvation ;  and 
uphold  me  with  thy  free  Spirit.  Then  will  I  teach 
trangressors  thy  ways ;  and  sinners  shall  be  con 
verted  unto  thee."  I  went  on  to  show  what  a 
wicked  man  David  was  on  one  occasion,  even  after 
God  had  called  him  "a  man  after  His  own  heart." 
I  was  about  to  close  and  saw  that  the  deacon  was  as 
unmoved  as  a  stone,  although  the  rest  of  the  con 
gregation  were  manifesting  the  deepest  interest. 
"Is  it  possible,"  I  thought,  "that  I  must  close  this 
sermon  and  meeting  this  evening  and  the  deacon 
remain  impenitent  for  his  wrong,  and  the  man  he 
had  injured  go  to  hell  over  his  obstinate  conduct?" 


MISCELLANY.  377 

I  leaned  over  the  high  desk  and  addressed  myself 
personally  to  the  deacon  thus:  "Now,  Deacon 

S ,  as  you  love  the  salvation  of  your  neighbor 

A from  eternal  perdition,  and  as  you  killed  his 

hog,  and  you  know  that  all  your  brethren  believe 
you  did,  go  this  minute  to  him  and  confess  your  sin, 
and  ask  his  forgiveness.  Don't  let  one  miserable 
swine  keep  you  from  the  smiles  of  Jesus,  and 

Mr.   A out   of   the  blessed   Kingdom."     And 

while  I  was  yet  speaking,  he  arose  and  went  to 
A ,  took  him  by  the  hand  and  made  a  full  con 
fession  of  all,  saying,  "Neighbor  A ,  I  killed 

your  hog  and  I  am  sorry  for  it.  I  hope  you  will 
forgive  me.  And  if  you  will  come  to  my  house 
to-morrow,  I  will  pay  you  the  full  worth  of  the  hog 

and   the   cost   of  the   suit."     A broke   down, 

acknowledged  himself  a  sinner,  and  was  soon  believ 
ing  in  Jesus  as  his  Savior.  This  was  the  starting 
point  of  a  great  work.  I  staid  and  preached  day 
and  night  for  five  weeks.  The  pastor  baptized  more 
than  eighty  who  were  converted  during  the  meeting ; 
and  the  church  was  restored  to  harmony. 


378   FROM  THE  STAGE  COACH  TO  THE  PULPIT 
TAKING  A  MAN  AT  HIS  WORD. 

When  I  had  returned  to  reside  in  Warsaw  the 
second  time,  there  was  still  living  in  that  community 
an  old  friend,  who  was  addicted  to  coming  jokes  on 
the  ministers,  if  practical  jokes,  all  the  better.  I 
met  him  in  the  village  one  day,  and  asked  him  if  I 
could  get  some  hay  of  him,  it  being  haying  time. 
"Well,  yes,  Elder,  you  come  up  with  your  wife  and 
make  us  a  visit,  and  I  will  put  in  all  the  hay  you  can 
carry  home  in  your  buggy.  I  don't  expect  to  get 
anything  out  of  ministers  for  hay,  as  they  hardly 
ever  pay  for  anything  of  the  kind,  even  if  they  agree 
to."  "Well,  Mr.  B.,"  I  said,  "I  hardly  think  Mrs. 
Stimsou  would  be  willing  to  ride  with  a  bundle  of 
hay,  but  I  will  come  up  with  a  one-horse  wagon  and 
get  a  "bundle"  when  it  is  cut.  When  shall  I  come?" 
"Next  Monday,  if  it  don't  rain." 

So  I  went  and  got  a  large  one-horse  lumber 
wagon,  and  put  on  a  common  two  horse  hay  rack. 
I  had  a  heavy,  stout  horse  that  weighed  about  twelve 
hundred.  So  off'  I  started  with  a  boy  to  help  me 
load.  The  hay  was  all  put  up  in  the  nicest  order  ic 
the  meadow.  I  had  loaded  on  eleven  big  bunches 
when  Mr.  B.  came  up,  and  after  surveying  the  whole 
establishment,  said :  "That's  what  you  call  a  buggy, 


MISCELLANY.  379 

is  it?"  "It's  a  one-horse  wagon,  Mr.  B.,  and  that's 
what  I  told  you  I  should  come  with."  So  he  took 
hold  and  helped  me.  We  turned  to  the  next  row  of 
bunches,  and  put  on  eleven  more,  making  twenty- 
two  in  all.  "There,"  said  he,  "go  ahead;  but  you 
will  never  get  home  with  it,  and  if  you  don't,  you 
shall  pay  for  it."  When  I  got  to  the  village,  I  had 
it  weighed.  It  made  just  twenty-two  hundred  and 
fifty  weight.  Mr.  B.  has  not  yet  heard  the  last  of 
the  "bundle"  of  hay  in  a  one-horse  wagon,  and  has 
concluded  to  "come"  no  more  dry  jokes  on  poor 
ministers. 


I  HAVE  OBSERVED  that  there  are  two  things  about 
which  the  mass  of  mankind  are  determined  to  be 
humbugged,  Religion  and  Medicine. 

A  religion  of  fanatical  incantations,  Mormonism, 
Spiritualism,  Universalism,  Heathenism  and  Devil- 
ism,  all  cater  to  the  vitiated  tastes  and  depraved 
desires  of  poor  human  nature.  And  men  naturally 
appear  to  prefer  any  one  of  these  to  a  knowledge  of 
the  "Truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus,"  that  is  pure  and  unde- 
filed,  and  that  is  consistent  with  good  common  sense 
and  sound  judgment. 


380      FROM   THE    STAGE    COACH   TO   THE    PULPIT. 

The  same  is  true  in  regard  to  Medicine.  Men 
will  employ  quack  physicians,  and  take  quack  nos 
trums,  much  sooner  than  take  really  useful  remedies. 
I  heard  a  doctor  of  the  quack  school  tell  a  family 
that  had  a  sick  daughter,  that  her  complaint  was  of 
the  heart,  i.  e.  "the  heart-string  had  become  so 
relaxed  and  elongated,  that  the  heart  had  fallen 
down  below  its  proper  place,  and  as  it  swung  back 
and  forth  like  a  clock-pendulum,  it  struck  on  the 
sides  of  her  chest  and  produced  a  soreness ; "  and 
as  a  remedy  he  prescribed  what  he  called  "pucker 
root"  and  alum,  sweetened  with  honey,  to  contract 
the  heart-string.  The  dear  family  thought  he  under 
stood  the  case  exactly.  The  next  week  the  poor 
sufferer  died,  and  I  attended  her  funeral.  I  thought 
he  ought  to  be  classed  with  "Dr.  Terrible,"  who,  it 
is  said,  bled  the  devil,  using  a  pickaxe  for  a  lancet. 


I  HAVE  OBSERVED,  and  am  convinced,  that  rich 
ministers  are,  as  a  general  thing,  a  drug  upon  the 
church  and  congregation.  If  they  are  able  to  preach 
to  the  church  for  nothing,  they  become  indolent, 
penurious  and  sleepy.  I  never  knew  of  a  church 
that  paid  their  minister  up  promptly,  that  was  not 


MISCELLANY.  381 

happy  aiid  prosperous.  A  church  that  is  always 
pleading  as  an  excuse  for  not  giving  to  charitable 
objects,  that  they  must  pay  their  minister  first,  but 
that  are  constantly  in  debt  to  him  and  the  sexton,  is 
'a  church  the  poor  in  which  are  obliged  to  take  care 
of  themselves,  or  go  to  the  poor-house. 

Persons  that  come  late  to  church  are  the  first  to 
complain  of  long  sermons ;  and  those  that  sleep  in 
sermon  time  are  the  first  to  detect  the  defects  in  the 
discourse. 


ELDER   JACOB   KNAPP   IN   ROCHESTER. 

I  was  present  in  the  meeting  at  the  First  Baptist 
church  in  Rochester,  New  York,  that  Brother  Knapp 
was  conducting,  and  as  many  have  regarded  the 
"lightning"  story  as  an  exaggeration,  I  feel  called 
upon  to  confirm  the  facts  as  related  in  his  autobiog 
raphy,  edited  by  Dr.  R.  Jeffery.  It  is  true  in  all  its 
particulars.  The  first  volley  of  brickbats  had  been 
thrown  at  the  church.  The  pulpit  then  stood  in  the 
end  next  to  the  street,  with  a  large  window  behind 
it ;  so  that  the  mob  had  a  fair  chance  at  the  person 
of  the  preacher,  whom  they  hated  with  a  cruel 
hatred.  The  most  blinding  lightning  that  I  ever 


382   FROM  THE  STAGE  COACH  TO  THE  PULPIT. 

remember  to  have  seen,  flashed  at  the  very  moment, 
flooding  the  whole  of  Fitzhugh  and  Buffalo  streets 
with  a  blaze  of  light,  accompanied  with  the  most 
stunning  thunder-burst.  The  mob  fled  in  such  haste 
that  not  ten  of  them  were  left  in  the  street  in  five 
minutes'  time.  To  saint  and  sinner  it  was  evident 
that  God  had  interposed  to  defend  His  truth,  and 
the  preacher  from  violence. 


PASTORATES. 

I  have  been  pastor  of  fourteen  churches  in  forty- 
three  years,  and  have  had  a  salary  all  the  way  from 
one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  to  sixteen  hundred 
dollars  per  year.  I  have  never  been  able  to  discover 
the  difference  between  a  small  one  and  a  large  one. 
Each  would  come  out  about  the  same.  Perhaps  the 
large  one  was  a  little  more  gratifying  to  my  family. 


WHAT  GOD  HAS  DONE  FOR  ME  AND  BY  ME  IN 
FORTY  YEARS. 

I  have  preached  over  ten  thousand  sermons,  such 
as  they  have  been.  I  have  baptized  eighteen  hun 
dred  and  eighty-seven  professed  believers  in  Jesus, 


MISCELLANY.  383 

the  Savior  of  sinners  ;  among  that  number,  fifteen 
ministers,  three  of  them  Pedobaptists,  two  Meth 
odists,  and  one  Presbyterian.  I  have  attended  six 
hundred  and  thirty-four  funerals.  I  have  solemnized 
four  hundred  and  twenty-eight  marriages.  I  have 
been  present  at  one  hundred  and  fifty-four  ordina 
tions  and  organizations  of  Baptist  churches.  I  have 
voted  for  President  of  the  United  States  from  Gen 
eral  Andrew  Jackson  to  Grant,  nine  in  all.  I  didn't 
vote  for  all  that  were  elected !  I  am  thankful  for 
that.  My  sins  are  so  many  less,  as  there  have  been 
worthless  men  among  the  nine.  I  have  assisted  more 
than  three  hundred  poor  fleeing  fugitives,  from  the 
house  of  bondage  of  Southern  slavery  into  Canada, 
and  in  many  instances  at  the  risk  of  being  imprisoned 
for  the  violation  of  the  fugitive  slave  law,  for  which 
a  wicked,  pro-slavery  congress  was  guilty.  And  I 
would  do  the  same  thing  to-morrow,  under  the  same 
circumstances.  So  much  for  repentance  on  that 
subject. 

I  HAVE  TRAVELED  in  twenty-two  of  the  States 
of  the  Union,  in  both  the  Canadas  and  in  "New 
Jersey" — in  all,  miles  enough  to  girdle  the  earth 
four  times.  I  have  preached  in  them  all,  except 


384       FROM    TILE    STAGE    COACH    TO    THE    PULPIT. 

Texas — and  there  I  was  not  permitted  to  remain 
long  enough,  as  the  rebel  "bushwhackers"  cared 
more  for  our  horses  and  watches  than  for  our 
Gospel.  We  thought,  as  the  lame  captain  expressed 
it,  "Doubtless  there  is  to  be  a  great  battle,  and  as 
we  shall  have  to  retreat  in  the  end,  therefore,  as  I 
am  lame,  I  will  go  now."  So  we  left  Texas  as  soon 
as  good  horses  would  convey  us  out  safely  into 
Kansas.  What  I  saw  of  it,  convinced  me  that  it  was 
then  not  a  good  State  to  be  in,  except  for  cattle 
and  horse-thieves.  And  I  have  had  no  special 
desire  to  return. 


A   MODERN   ZACCHEUS. 

In  one  of  our  precious  revivals  in  Western  New 
York,  a  time  when  all  the  community  were  spell 
bound  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  a  case  occurred  similar 
to  the  one  when  Jesus  was  on  earth,  recorded  in 
Luke  xix.  5-6  : 

"And  when  Jesus  came  to  the  place,  He  looked 
up,  and  saw  him,  and  said  unto  him,  Zaccheus, 
make  haste,  and  come  down;  for  to-day  I  must 
abide  at  thy  house." 

"And  he  made  haste,  and  eame  down,  and 
received  Hun  joyfully.'' 


MISCELLANY.  385 

A  young  gentleman,  of  high  standing  among  his 
friends  and  the  wealthy,  was  an  attendant  upon  the 
meeting  in  progress.  He  became  quite  affected  and 
solemn,  but  for  a  long  time  made  no  effort  to  come 
out  boldly  and  confess  Christ.  One  afternoon,  just 
after  the  meeting  had  opened,  he  sent  up  to  the  desk 
a  short  notice r  requesting  the  pastor  to  go  with  him 
to  the  study,  as  he  wished  to  see  him  on  important 
business  at  once.  I  left  the  meeting  in  charge  of  a 
deacon,  and  retired  to  the  study,  as  requested.  He 
commenced  by  saying,  as  soon  as  we  took  our  seats : 
"Mr.  Stimson,  the  facts  I  am  about  to  divulge  will 
ruin  me  for  this  life  and  perhaps  for  the  life  to  come. 
It  is  this :  I  was  a  clerk  in  a  store  in  the  city 

of  ,     State    of     Michigan ;     and   while   there 

employed,  I  was  guilty  of  purloining  some  very 
costly  silks  and  satins,  which  I  have  now  in  my 
trunk,  as  I  have  never  had  an  opportunity  of 
disposing  of  them ;  being,  too,  under  the  constant 
impression  that  I  should  be  detected  if  I  offered 
them  for  sale.  Now,  God,  by  His  Spirit  and  the 
truth,  has  arrested  me,  and  four  long  weeks  I  have 
been  like  a  man  on  coals  of  fire.  Now,  I  ask  you, 
as  my  pastor,  what  to  do ;  and  I  will  do  it,  if  it 
disgraces  me  and  my  family,  and  I  have  to  lie  in 


386   FROM  THE  STAGE  COACH  TO  THE  PULPIT. 

the  State's  prison  for  years,  I  will  do  it ;  for  to  live 
under  this  burden  of  mind,  I  cannot  any  longer. 
To  me  it  is  a  living  death,  by  day  and  by  night." 
I  was  overwhelmed  and  amazed  at  the  confession 
of  the  young  merchant,  as  he  was  then  a  partner 
in  a  thriving  business  in  the  village.  I  locked  the 
door,  and  then  engaged  in  a  moment  of  prayer  with 
him.  When  we  arose  from  our  knees,  I  said : 
"Now,  my  young  friend,  you  go  and  get  your  trunk, 
with  the  goods  in  it,  and  start  for  Michigan  at  once  ; 
and  when  you  arrive  at  the  place,  call  the  firm 
together,  and,  without  gloss  or  guile,  confess  your 
sin,  and  throw  yourself  upon  their  clemency,  and 
be  prepared  to  take  what  follows."  He  at  once 
said,  "I  will  do  it."  At  his  request,  I  wrote  a  letter 
to  the  parties  wronged,  stating  the  circumstances 
of  his  confession  and  of  his  relations  in  life  and 
business  standing.  I  then  sent  him  with  a  boy  to 
drive  my  buggy  to  the  depot,  four  miles  away. 
The  next  day  he  arrived  at  the  place  of  his  destina 
tion,  restored  the  goods  and  made  an  unvarnished 
confession,  and  received  a  full  pardon  from  the 
parties.  These  Christian  gentlemen,  for  such  they 
were,  wrote  me  a  most  cordial  and  Christian  letter, 
in  which  they  expressed  confidence  in  the  deep 


MISCELLANY.  387 

repentance  of  the  young  man ;  and  said  that  they 
had  not  missed  the  goods,  and  never  should  have 
known  of  his  thieving,  if  he  had  not  confessed  it. 
He  soon  came  before  the  church,  related  his  expe 
rience,  expressing  himself  as  a  great  sinner  against 
God.  To  this  day,  he  is  an  exemplary,  honorable 
Christian  man  in  one  of  the  Eastern  cities.  How 
milch  better  and  wiser  the  course  of  this  young 
man,  than  that  pursued  by  many,  who,  rather  than 
expose  themselves  and  their  fellow-men,  go  on  with 
a  canker  constantly  eating  away  at  their  souls ; 
feeling  every  moment  that  God  is  against  them, 
being  cognizant  of  all  the  facts  of  their  wickedness, 
and  Jesus  continually  inviting  to  come  down  and 
give  them  entertainment  in  the  homes  of  their 
hearts.  Those  who  comply,  find  pardon  and  peace. 
Near  twenty  years  have  passed,  and  no  one 
has  ever  known  the  above  facts  but  the  parties 
concerned.  I  can  keep  a  secret,  if  I  never  have 
joined  a  secret  lodge. 


388      FROM   THE    STAGE   COACH   TO   THE   PULPIT. 


CHAPTER  XXXH. 

SERMONS — ALMOST  A   CHRISTIAN. 

"  Then  Agrippa  said  unto  Paul,  Almost  thou  persuadest  me  to  be  a 
Christian. 

"  And  Paul  said,  I  would  to  God,  that  not  only  thou,  but  also  all 
that  hear  me  this  day,  were  both  almost,  and  altogether  such  as  I  am, 
except  these  bonds."— ACTS  xxvi.  28-29. 

\ 

MAN  is  a  religious  being.  Religion  is  an 
inherent  principle  in  his  nature,  raising  him 
above  all  other  animal  tribes.  His  instincts  and 
aspirations  place  him  on  an  altitude  above  all  the 
residents  of  earth.  Being  a  religious  intelligence, 
he  is  possessed  of  all  the  endowments  of  immor 
tality.  He  is  responsible  for  his  conduct  to  the 
remotest  limit  of  its  influence.  If  it  were  not  for 
his  upward  instincts,  his  degradation  would  be 
hopeless.  If  he  didn't  care  for  immortality,  he 
would  be  beyond  moral  reach. 

Men  are  compelled  unwittingly  to  pay  tribute  and 
respect  to  the  Christian  religion,  even  when  they 


SERMONS.  389 

know  nothing  by  experience  of  its  real  merits. 
Thus,  Agrippa,  his  heathen  conscience  stirred  by 
Paul's  masterly  defense  of  its  great  fundamental 
truths,  cried  out:  "Almost  thou  persuadest  me  to 
be  a  Christian."  Men  have  only  to  let  go  their 
hold  on  sin  and  let  their  principles,  which  are  at 
best  but  little  better  than  sins,  fly  to  the  winds,  and 
multitudes  would  be  led  to  make  the  same  excla 
mation,  and  to  look  at  the  cross  by  faith,  which 
would  result  in  making  them  Christians  altogether. 
Let  us  proceed  to  notice  : 

I.  What  constitutes  a  Christian  in  reality. 

II.  What  is  it  to  become  almost  a  Christian,  and 
yet  fail. 

m.  Persuasion  for  all  men  to  become  Christians 
in  fact. 

1.  A  Christian  is  a  regenerated  sinner.  The 
Holy  Spirit  regenerated  him.  There  can  be  no 
substitute  for  regeneration.  Yery  many  are  deceived 
by  human  substitutes.  As  one  says :  "I  am  a 
Christian  by  birthright.  My  parents  had  me  bap 
tized  in  my  infancy.  I  have  learned  the  catechism 
and  keep  the  law  of  our  church,  and  have  been 
confirmed  as  a  true  child  of  God  by  the  bishop  or 
priest."  All  this  gives  no  claim  to  being  a  Christian, 


390   FROM  THE  STAGE  COACH  TO  THE  PULPIT 

and  is  a  trap  of  Satan  to  deceive  and  ruin  the  souls 
of  men.  There  must  be  a  radical  change  of  his 
entire  moral  nature.  He  must  be  born  again,  as 
John  says,  i.  12,  13  : 

"But  as  many  as  received  Him,  to  them  gave  He 
power  to  become  the  sons  of  God,  even  to  them  that 
believe  on  His  name  : 

"Which  were  born,  not  of  blood,  nor  of  the  will 
of  the  flesh,  nor  of  the  will  of  man,  but  of  God/' 

Jesus  taught  the  same  doctrine  to  Nicodemus 
(John  iii.  3,  4,  5)  : 

"Jesus  answered  and  said  unto  him,  Yerily,  verily, 
I  say  unto  thee,  Except  a  man  be  born  again,  he 
cannot  see  the  kingdom  of  God. 

"Nicodemus  saith  unto  Him,  How  can  a  man  be 
born  when  he  is  old  ?  Can  he  enter  the  second  time 
into  his  mother's  womb,  and  be  born? 

"Jesus  answered,  Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  thee, 
Except  a  man  be  born  of  water  and  of  the  Spirit, 
he  cannot  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God." 

This,  beloved,  is  the  only  way  of  making  a 
Christian  in  reality.  This  work  of  the  Spirit  will 
manifest  itself  in  repentance  of  sin,  by  faith  in  the 
Son  of  God,  and  in  obedience  to  the  law  of  His 
Gospel.  This  will  make  a  man  a  Christian  in  fact. 


SERMONS.  391 

He  will  be  a  new  creature.  "Therefore,  if  any  man 
be  in  Christ,  he  is  a  new  creature :  old  things 
are  passed  away ;  behold,  all  things  are  become 
new."  (II  Cor.  v.  17.)  He  will  be  a  Christian  in 
reality,  and  not  by  any  mummery  of  human 
invention. 

2.  A  Christian  is  controlled  in  his  conduct  by 
principle  and  not  by  emotion.  Multitudes  act  from 
the  emotional  part  of  their  nature,  and  deceive 
themselves  by  thinking  that  this  emotion  is  a 
ground  of  belief  that  they  are  Christians.  Nothing 
is  more  delusive  and  destructive  of  their  present 
and  eternal  interest  in  Christ.  Religion  is  a 
principle,  and  all  the  duties  of  a  religious  life 
must  have  their  base  in  it.  Emotional  religion  is 
a  prolific  source  of  apostacy  from  Christ  and  the 
Church.  Man}7  ministers  of  Christ  contribute  to 
this  state  of  things  seen  so  often  in  the  declension 
of  those  who  "did  run  well,"  by  saying,  in  sub 
stance,  "get  up  your  feelings,  and  then  go  to  work 
for  God."  Thus,  many  are  waiting  for  the  tide 
of  their  emotion  to  rise  and  their  zeal  to  be  inflated, 
so  that  they  can  float  into  religious  enjoyment ; 
when  the  great  effort  should  be  to  get  down  upon 
the  solid  rock  of  pure  Christian  principle,  of 
"Christ  in  you  the  hope  of  glory." 


392      FROM   THE    STAGE    COACH   TO   THE    PULPIT. 

Far  be  it  from  me  to  say  anything  against  emotion. 
It  acts  upon  the  Christian  as  a  fair  breeze  does  upon 
the  ship ;  it  helps  it  into  port.  With  a  favoring 
wind  he  sings  : 

"  Homeward  bound,  Homeward  bound.'* 

But  if  his  ship  is  unsound  in  the  hull,  every  increas 
ing  breeze  only  makes  her  creak,  and  hastens  its 
destruction.  It  is  a  sorry  case  to  have  the  wind 
blow  fair  and  to  be  constantly  crying  to  the  men  at 
the  pumps  :  "Heave  ho  !  boys,  heave  ho  !  boys,  we 
shall  all  go  to  the  bottom  if  you  don't  work  the 
pumps."  So  it  is  with  your  sentimental  professor, 
who  is  void  of  true  principle,  based  on  Christ's 
finished  work  of  atonement. 

3.  A  true  Christian  applies  himself  to  the  work 
of  Christ  in  doing  something  and  all  he  can  to 
extend  His  Kingdom  among  men.  He  will  seek  out 
opportunities  to  develop  the  power  of  the  Gospel. 
To  him  the  world  is  the  field,  and  while  he  is  in  it 
he  will  find  something  to  do  in  the  private  interview, 
in  the  family,  in  the  Sunday  school,  in  the  prayer- 
meeting,  sowing  beside  all  waters.  He  will  get 
good  by  doing  good.  The  best  proof  of  one's 
Christianity,  consists  in  applying  one's  self  to 
Christ's  work. 


SEKMONS.  393 

We  have  now  seen  what  a  Christian  is  in  reality. 
Let  us  ask, 

II.  What  it  is  to  be  almost  a  Christian,  and  yet 
fail? 

A  person,  having  his  birth  and  being  in  a  country 
where  the  Gospel  is  proclaimed  in  all  its  fullness, 
and  where  he  has  enjoyed  the  constant  means  of 
salvation,  being  still  without  hope  in  Christ,  the 
Savior  of  sinners,  may  be  said  to  be  "almost  a 
Christian."  A  stranger  to  human  depravity  and  to 
the  obstinate  state  of  mind  to  which  the  sinner  is 
habituated,  would  say,  in  looking  at  the  sweet, 
heavenly  influences  by  which  they  are  surrounded : 
these,  who  hear  oft-repeated  invitations  to  embrace 
Christ,  who  are  the  objects  of  the  wooings  of  the 
Spirit  of  God,  surely  are  all  Christians.  But, 
what  is  the  fact?  Only  almost,  not  quite  yet 
possessed  of  a  good  hope,  not  quite  yet  destitute 
of  a  good  hope.  They  can  say,  the  land  that  gave 
me  birth  is  denominated  a  "  Christian "  country  ;  and 
yet,  the  truth  remains  they  are  "without  God  and 
without  hope  in  the  world" — almost  Christians,  but 
making  the  sad  failure  of  neglecting  the  one  thing 
needful  in  the  very  midst  of  the  richest  privileges. 
ATot  to  be  able  to  say,  "I  know  that  my  Redeemer 


394   FROM  THE  STAGE  COACH  TO  THE  PULPIT. 

liveth,"  is  to  make  the  fatal  mistake  of  all  time,  is 
to  come  short  of  the  end  of  creation. 

2.  There  are  very  many  who  acknowledge  the 
cardinal  truths  of  the  Bible,  the  reality  of  heaven, 
the  awful  existence  of  hell  and  the  propriety  of  a 
coming  judgment  day,  in  which  all  the  world  are  to 
be  judged  ;  they  attend  upon  the  ordinary  and  even 
extraordinary  means  of  grace,  and  yet  have  never 
yielded  to  the  claims  of  the  Gospel,  and  are  only 
almost  Christians.  "His  Spirit  has  striven  with  me 
by  day  and  by  night,  His  people  have  prayed  for 
me,  and  companions  that  loved  Him  have  invited 
me,  my  Christian  parents  have  wept  over  me,  I  have 
had  my  foot  on  the  very  threshold  of  the  Kingdom 
of  the  blessed  Church  of  Christ,  and  yet  I  have 
no  abiding  evidence  that  I  have  been  regenerated 
by  the  Spirit  of  God ;  no  comforting  assurance 
of  connection  with  Jesus ;  I  am  only  almost  a 
Christian.  I  have  only  desired  heaven  as  a  refuge 
into  which  to  escape  from  the  storm  of  indignant 
wrath  that  will  one  day  overtake  me ;  a  retreat  to 
keep  me  out  of  perdition.  I  have  no  relish  for  the 
society  of  the  pure  in  heart  that  surround  the  throne 
of  God  and  the  Lamb.  I  was  almost  a  Christian 
once,  but  I  have-.made  a  sad  failure,  an  eternal  fail- 


SERMONS.  395 

ure.n  This,  doubtless,  will  be  the  regret  of  many. 
They  will  have  to  appropriate  the  language  of  one  of 
old,  'The  harvest  is  past,  the  summer  is  ended,  and 
I  am  not  saved.'  Procrastination  and  the  love  of 
sin  have  kept  me  in  the  state  of  being  almost  a 
Christian. 

Pauline  Colburn  was  a  young  lady  brought  up 
under  the  most  sweet  influences  of  a  kind  and  relig 
ious  family,  and  often  the  subject  of  deep  impres 
sions  of  her  condition  as  a  sinner  out  of  Christ. 
Constant  in  her  place  in  the  house  of  God ;  every 
Sabbath  joining  her  voice  in  the  songs  of  worship ; 
she  often  told  me  as  her  pastor,  that  she  meant  to 
yield  to  the  claims  of  the  blessed  Jesus.  So  tender 
were  her  feelings,  that  one  would  think  she  was  not 
far  from  the  kingdom  of  God,  only  not  quite  ready 
to  offer  herself  up  unto  the  Master  then  and  there. 
She  was  in  the  gallery  on  Sunday,  and  sang  as 
sweetly  as  ever.  She  wept  while  in  conversation, 
but  hesitated,  and  went  home.  On  Monday  morning 
she  arose  from  the  breakfast  table,  and  retired  to  her 
room,  exclaiming:  "I  have  been  almost  a  Christian, 
but  never  loved  Christ ;  now  I  am  dying,"  and  in 
five  minutes  she  was  a  corpse.  Almost  a  Christian  I 
Poor  girl !  Almost  a  Christian  ! 

But  let  us  conclude  by  noticing : 


396   FROM  THE  STAGE  COACH  TO  THE  PULPIT. 

III.  The  Persuasions  presented  for  all  men  to 
become  Christians. 

1.  Sin  in  its  very  nature  and  tendency  is  destruc 
tive  of  all  human  happiness,  present  and  prospective. 
God  hath  said:  "There  is  no  peace  to  the  wicked." 
How  true  this  is  in  all  the  history  of  sin  and  sinners  ! 
We  have  a  way  of  graduating  sin.  "Small  sins," 
"little  sins,"  are  every  day  spoken  of  among  men. 
It  is  well  to  remember  that :  "  Sin  is  the  transgres 
sion  of  the  Law,"  and  the  Law  is  a  transcript  of  the 
perfections  of  Deity.  Sin,  then,  is  the  violation  of 
God's  own  rights  as  our  King,  Law-giver,  Father  and 
Redeemer.  So  then,  he  that  sins  is  contending 
against  the  Almighty.  Beloved,  do  not  let  us  talk 
about  "little  sins."  No  one  ever  became  an  outra 
geous  sinner  at  once.  It  is  sinning  by  degrees  that 
augments  us  into  incorrigible  sinners. 

In  the  British  navy  a  ship  was  ordered  so  con 
structed  that  every  timber  in  it  should  undergo  a 
strict  inspection,  and  no  stick  should  be  used  in  this 
war  structure  that  was  the  least  defective.  A  car 
penter  was  at  work  on  a  huge  oak  beam,  into 
which  he  thrust  the  point  of  his  scratch-awl.  He  at 
once  called  the  attention  of  the  inspector  to  the 
defect.  He  came  and  examined  it,  and  turned 


SERMONS.  397 

away,  saying,  "It  is  nothing  but  a  little  worm  hole. 
It  never  can  do  any  damage."  The  noble  ship  was 
completed,  rigged  and  furnished  with  every  appoint 
ment  for  a  long  voyage,  with  a  noble  staff  of  officers 
and  seamen.  But  when  far  out  on  old  ocean,  she 
was  found  to  be  weak  in  an  important  place.  Search 
was  made,  and  to  the  astonishment  of  all,  it  was 
found  out  that  the  timber  with  a  little  worm  hole 
was  now  perforated  through  and  through  with  worm 
holes,  and  was  but  little  better  than  a  stick  of  sand. 
It  was  so  placed  as  to  receive  the  greatest  strain. 
Orders  were  given  to  steer  for  the  nearest  port. 
But  soon  a  storm  came  on,  and  the  two  combined 
forces  of  wind  and  wave  grappled  with  it,  and  the 
new  ship,  staunch  and  strong  as  all  supposed,  was 
conquered.  It  became  the  victim  of  the  sea.  It 
went  to  the  bottom,  carrying  all  on  board  but  three, 
to  tell  the  sad  tale  of  the  disaster  caused  by  the 
little  worm  hole.  Precious  lives  and  costly  freight 
go  to  the  bottom  continually  in  the  great  world 
from  just  such  insignificant  causes. 

Sin  that  may  at  the  time  be  but  little,  if  not 
repented  of  will  bring  destruction  like  a  whirlwind, 
and  send  the  sinner  to  the  bottom  of  the  great  abyss 
beyond  the  hope  of  recovery.  Little  sins  and 


398   FROM  THE  STAGE  COACH  TO  THE  PULPIT. 

great  sins  are  of  the  same  family.  One  has  grown 
to  great  proportions.  The  other  is  growing.  Then 
be  persuaded  to  break  off  your  sins  by  turning  to 
Jesus,  in  whom  alone  all  true  happiness  and  all 
safety  are  found. 

2.  All  men  are  persuaded  to  become  Chris 
tians  by  the  consideration  of  what  Christ  has 
accomplished.  The  love  of  God  in  giving  the 
Son  of  His  love,  is  an  incentive  of  the  highest 
order.  It  not  only  claims  your  attention,  but 
it  demands  your  admiration  and  homage.  God 
so  loved  the  world  of  sinners.  "$0" — that  little 
word  "so/"  Oh,  sinner,  I  wish  you  and  I  under 
stood  it !  So  loved  the  sinner  as  to  give  His  only 
begotten  Son,  that  whosoever  belie veth  in  Him  might 
not  perish  but  have  everlasting  life.  And  then,  in 
addition  to  all  this,  consider  the  appliances  and 
influences  set  at  work  to  persuade  you  to  yield  to 
the  claims  of  the  Gospel :  "  For  the  love  of  Christ 
constraineth  us;  because  we  thus  judge,  that  if  one 
died  for  all,  then  were  all  dead."  The  love  of  Christ 
urges  you  to  stop  and  think  how  much  Jesus  has 
suffered  for  you.  Were  there  ever  love  like  His? 
"For  God  is  love."  ( i.  John  iv.  8.)  All  His  per 
fections  and  procedure?  are  but  so  many  modifica- 


SERMONS.  399 

tions  of  his  love.  What  is  His  omnipotence  but 
the  arm  of  His  love?  What  is  His  omniscience 
but  the  medium  through  which  he  contemplates  the 
objects  of  His  love  ?  What  is  His  wisdom  but  the 
scheme  of  His  love?  What  are  the  offers  of 
the  Gospel  but  the  invitations  of  His  love  ?  What 
the  threatenings  of  the  law  but  the  warnings  of  His 
love?  They  are  the  hoarse  voice  of  His  love,  say 
ing,  "Man,  do  thyself  no  harm."  They  are  a  fence 
thrown  around  the  pit  of  destruction,  to  prevent 
rash  men  from  rushing  into  ruin.  What  was  the 
incarnation  of  the  Savior  but  the  richest  illustration 
of  His  love?  What  were  the  miracles  of  Christ 
but  the  condescensions  of  His  love?  What  were 
the  prayers  of  Christ  but  the  pleadings  of  His  love  ? 
What  were  the  tears  of  Christ  but  the  dew-drops  of 
His  love  ?  What  is  this  earth  but  the  theater  for  a 
display  of  His  love  ?  What  is  heaven  but  the  Alps 
of  His  mercy,  from  whose  summits  His  blessings, 
flowing  down  in  a  thousand  streams,  descend  to 
water  and  refresh  His  Church,  situated  at  its  base  ? 
Stop  a  moment,  and  consider  what  the  Spirit  is 
doing  for  your  enlightenment  to  make  you  see  the 
depravity  of  your  nature.  Unnumbered  influences 
at  work  to  lead  you  in  a  way  you  know  not !  Pray- 


400      FROM   THE    STAGE    COACH   TO    THE    PULPIT. 

ing  friends  are  daily  and  nightly  weeping  at  a  mercy 
seat,  saying,  "Spare,  O  Lord,  O  spare  my  son  or 
my  daughter  from  going  down  to  the  pit ! " 

And  then  think  of  what's  only  a  little  in  advance 
for  you  to  meet — one  of  two  vast  considerations : 
a  heaven  of  light  and  uncreated  glory,  where 
Beauty  and  Purity,  Holiness,  Goodness,  in  fact 
everything  to  increase  one's  happiness  with  the  good 
of  all  ages ;  and  the  consideration  of  being  without 
any  interest  in  Jesus,  without  one  assurance  that 
you  have  accepted  the  proffered  pardon.  You  will 
have  to  say,  "I  must  be  deprived  of  the  associations 
of  all  Christian  friends,  and  never  see  the  face  of 
the  Crucified  One." 

3.  The  vast  future  in  which  all  your  interests  are 
concealed.  Eternity  !  Eternity  !  There  your  best 
friends  have  taken  up  their  abode.  Perhaps  your 
dear  old  mother,  or  your  father,  has  long  been 
employed  with  the  sainted  hosts  of  God's  dear  chil 
dren,  and  with  celestial  voice  and  fingers  skilled  in 
divine  art,  has  been  swelling  the  song  uninterrupted, 

"  Worthy  is  the  Lamb  that  was  slain  for  us." 

Do  you  not  desire  to  join  in  that  song?  or  do  you  still 
choose  to  vacillate  and  hesitate  and  turn  a  deaf  ear 


SERMONS.  401 

to  the  Sweetest  Charmer?     Hear  Him  :    "Unto  you, 
O  men,  I  call ;   and  my  voice  is  to  the  sons  of  man. 
O  ye  simple,  understand  wisdom;   and  ye  fools,  be 
ye  of  an   understanding  heart." 
Two  inferences : — 

(a)  Is  it  not  wisdom  for  you  to  be  a  Christian  in 
reality,  at  whatever  cost  ?     Do  you  not  feel  that  it 
would  be  highest  attainment  of  wisdom  to  be  able  to 
say, 

Jesus,  I  my  cross  have  taken, 

All  to  leave  and  follow  thee. 
Naked,  poor,  despised,  forsaken, 

Thou  from  hence  my  all  shalt  be." 

(b)  Do  not  be  contented  in  being  almost  a  Chris 
tian.     Contentment  while  in  this  state  is  as  fatal  as 
contentment  in  the  most  open  and  rebellious   con 
dition.      Contentment    in   any    condition    short    of 
personal   union   and   fellowship  with    God  through 
Christ,    is   a   trick   of  the    devil.     Contentment   in 
being  almost  a  Christian  is  the  stupor  that  leads  to 
eternal  death.     Arouse  yourself  from  it.     Shake  off 
the  fatal  spell,  and  not  debar  yourself  from  all  that's 
good  in  time  and  eternity. 


402   FROM  THE  STAGE  COACH  TO  THE  PULPIT., 

n. 

THE    DISPLEASURE    OF    GOD    WITH    THE     INDOLENT. 

"  Curse  ye  Meroz,  said  the  angel  of  the  Lord,  curse  ye  bitterly  the 
inhabitants  thereof,  because  they  came  not  up  to  the  help  of  the  Lord, 
to  the  help  of  the  Lord  against  the  mighty." — JUDGES  v :  23. 

It  is  evident  that  Meroz  was  so  situated  that  it 
could  have  rendered  important  and  essential  aid  to 
the  cause  of  Israel,  in  their  conflict  with  the  enemy, 
if  it  had  been  so  disposed.  But  Meroz,  assuming 
the  same  sentiment  and  position  of  very  many  of 
the  present  time,  thought  it  prudent  to  be  neutral  in 
this  conflict  for  right  and  for  liberty.  How  many 
there  are  who  study  the  devil's  dictionary  to  find 
a  comfortable  definition  of  the  word  prudence,  and 
they  and  their  friends  laud  them  to  the  skies  for 
their  wise  forecast  and  "prudent"  conduct,  in  not 
being  identified  with  the  radical  and  revolutionary 
Spirit  that  is  stirring  perhaps  the  entire  nation  to  the 
depths,  in  the  interests  of  humanity  and  justice  !  It 
was  so  a  few  years  since  in  the  agitation  against 
American  slavery  for  over  forty  years.  The  same 
has  been  true  in  the  temperance  reform.  Men  and 
ministers  have  stood  and  looked  on  with  stoic  indif- 


SERMONS.  403 

ference,  while  drunkards  have  been  made  by  law, 
and  thousands  have  gone  down  to  drunkards'  graves 
within  their  personal  knowledge. 

They  see  these  friends  and  acquaintances  go  down 
to  a  drunkard's  undone  eternity,  and  then  with  a 
linen  handkerchief  they  wipe  their  mouths  with  as 
smooth  grace  as  if  they  had  been  to  a  banquet.  If 
prompted  to  speak,  it  has  been  to  say,  "Well,  these 
hot-headed  cold  water  men  are  responsible  for  this. 
Moderation  would  have  been  far  better.  By  their 
hot  haste  they  have  driven  men  to  sell  it,  and  men 
that  love  it  will  drink  it,  if  they  can  get  it."  This 
is  morality  with  a  vengeance,  taking  the  side  of 
Belial  against  Christ  and  humanity.  These  are  your 
men  who  pride  themselves  on  their  great  prudence ; 
conservative  souls  that  are  not  fit  for  the  Kingdom 

o 

of  heaven.  Christ  has  no  need  of  men  who  think 
more  of  how  to  retreat  than  advance ;  who  wait  to 
see  which  way  the  wind  blows  before  they  start ; 
who  have  no  idea  of  standing  for  the  right  till  the 
right  is  popular.  God  wants  revolutionists. 

This  ode  of  Deborah  was  chanted  at  the  celebra 
tion  of  the  victory,  and  while  honorable  mention 
was  made  of  such  as  had  distinguished  themselves 
by  deeds  of  valor,  Meroz  is  referred  to  in  terms  of 


404       FROM   THE    STAGE    COACH   TO   THE   PULPIT. 

execration,  and  burning,  blistering  reproach.  There 
is  another  day  of  celebration  yet  to  come,  and  an 
ode  to  be  sung  by  far  excelling  all  that  was  ever 
heard  on  earth.  The  question  is,  What  mention 
shall  be  made  of  you  in  that  last  day  ?  Shall  it  be 
"Curse  ye  me  those  that  have  stood  neutral,  while 
virtue  and  sound  religion  and  humanity  have  been 
calling  for  help?"  Or  shall  it  be  in  approval,  like 
that  of  Deborah  and  Barak,  and  those  with  them 
in  the  conflict  ? 

In  this  discourse  we  propose  to  notice : 

I.  The  Conflict  going  on. 

II.  The  Help  Demanded. 

III.  The  evident  Results  of  the  Conflict. 
I.  The  Conflict  now  in  Progress. 

1.  Error  has  waged  a  war  against  Truth,  and  has 
aroused  all  her  minions  to  overthrow  it,  by  every 
possible  strategy  known  to  a  barbarous  and  savage 
warfare.  Its  most  common  attacks,  are  to  assume 
the  garb  of  Truth.  But  it  is  Truth  perverted  for  the 
sake  of  advantage.  "For  the  wrath  of  God  is 
revealed  from  heaven  against  all  ungodliness  and 
unrighteousness  of  men,  who  hold  the  truth  in 
unrighteousness."  (Romans,  i.  18.) 

A  few  specifications.     "All  men  will  be  saved,  no 


SERMONS.  405 

matter  what  their  sins  or  character  may  be.  Salva 
tion  is  sure."  "Jesus  was  a  good  man,  but  not 
divine,  nor  equal  with  God."  Carnal  will  substi 
tuted  for  divine  obedience  and  submission  to  the 
Gospel  of  Christ ;  human  merit  for  Christ's  suffering 
and  atonement.  These  all  hold  the  Truth  in 
unrighteousness,  and  are  the  scouting  parties  sent 
out  by  the  devil  to  reconnoiter  the  outworks  of 
Zion's  fortress,  while  Truth  stands  in  her  white  uni 
form,  bidding  defiance  to  these  sons  of  Belial,  and 
near  by  her,  within  bugle-sound,  are  encamped 
these  "wise,"  "discreet,"  cowardly,  chicken-hearted 
professed  friends  of  both  parties,  with  their  field- 
glasses  taking  observations.  Many  of  them  members 
of  the  church,  and  at  the  last  election  voting  for  the 
captain  of  this  same  squad  to  sell  strychnine  whisky, 
or  are  renting  some  low  dance-house,  or  gambling- 
hell,  or  its  twin  sister,  a  gay  shop  where  drunkards 
are  finished  up  in  the  latest  style  for  perdition. 
This  is  Meroz,  that  takes  no  part  in  the  conflict  now 
going  on  against  Zion.  No  marvel  that  God's  angel 
should  say  :  "Curse  ye  Meroz." 

2.  The  conflict  is  waged  with  superhuman  effort 
to  make  the  avowed  friends  of  Jesus  subserve  the 
wicked  purposes  of  the  enemy. 


406       FROM   THE    STAGE    COACH   TO   THE   PULPIT. 

The  young  convert  of  Christ  is  attacked  in  his 
weakest  point.  With  blandest  smiles  the  enemy 
says  :  "Let  all  your  religious  actions  be  with  the 
greatest  moderation.  Keep  cool,  quite  cool,  on  all 
matters  of  a  spiritual  nature.  Join  with  the  world 
in  its  social  recreations.  No  harm  for  a  Christian 
to  play  billiards ;  why,  our  minister  keeps  a  bil 
liard  table  in  his  house,  right  adjoining  the  study ; 
and  his  wife  said  she  would  dance,  if  it  were  not 
for  the  speech  of  some  of  the  members  of  his 
church  who  think  it  not  right.  Why,  you  look 
fatigued  ;  won't  you  take  a  glass  of  wine  ? — it  will 
not  hurt  you?  Our  minister  drinks  it  at  his  table 
every  day.  Oh,  how  I  wish  you  could  have  been  at 
Mrs.  Snodinglove's  party,  the  other  evening.  We 
had  a  very  pleasant  time  indeed.  You  know  she  is 
a  member  of  our  church,  and  she  thinks  it  no  harm 
for  Christians  to  go  to  the  theatre  or  circus.  She 
is  very  fond  of  dancing  too." 

Thus,  by  the  time  this  gabbling  daughter  of 
Jezebel  has  finished  her  tittle-tattle  to  a  convert 
just  espoused  to  Jesus,  if  he  is  not  well  on  his 
guard,  ten  chances  to  one  if  he  is  not  taken  captive 
at  the  will  of  the  devil,  so  that  when  sister  Light- 
minded  has  her  "levee,"  he  is  there  to  subserve  the 


SERMONS.  407 

cause  and  machinations  of  these  enemies  of  God  and 
His  anointed.  Joined  in  affinity  with  the  world, 
his  religion  has  become  cool  indeed.  No  more  deep 
solicitude  for  their  young  companions  to  come  to 
the  cross.  No  more  singing  in  the  spirit,  and  with 
the  understanding : 

"  Nearer,  my  God,  to  Thee, 

Nearer  to  Thee ; 
E'en  though  it  be  a  cross 

That  raiseth  me. 
Still  all  my  song  shall  be, 
Nearer,  my  God,  to  Thee, 

Nearer  to  Thee." 

"  Ye  did  run  well ;  who  did  hinder  you  that  ye 
should  not  obey  the  truth?"  (Gal.  v.  7.) 

"As  ye  have  therefore  received  Christ  Jesus  the 
Lord,  so  walk  ye  in  Him."  (Col.  ii.  6.) 

Thus  they  have  joined  the  neutrality  party ;  and 
they  too  think  our  religious  sentiments  and  convic 
tions  should  be  expressed  with  great  "coolness." 
"Coolness"  means  coldness  toward  Christ  when 
rightly  interpreted. 

n.  The  help  demanded  in  this  crisis  of  the 
conflict. 

To  help  the  Lord  "against  the  mighty,"  is  the 
key  note  of  the  conflict. 


408      FROM   THE    STAGE    COACH   TO    THE    PULPIT. 

1.  The  duty  of  the  ministers  of  Jesus  to  expose 
the  falsehood  and  sophistry  of  every  lying  spirit. 
Not  only  is  it  the  duty  of  the  servants  of  Christ  to 
defend  the  Truth  and  Zion  in  her  possession  of  it, 
but  to  carry  the  war  into  the  enemy's  camp,  showing 
no  quarter  to  a  rebellious  foe.  Throw  everything 
at  the  devil ;  like  Luther,  throw  your  inkstand  at 
him,  if  you  have  nothing  else ;  or  like  Whitefield 
at  the  Moorfields,  preach  Christ  and  Him  crucified, 
to  the  surging  mob ;  or  like  John  Knox  at  Saint 
Mary's,  in  the  face  of  armed  soldiers  threatening 
him,  "stand  up  for  Jesus,"  and  proclaim  "the 
acceptable  year  of  the  Lord,"  and  "the  day  of  ven 
geance  of  our  God."  Christ,  Paul,  Peter,  John  the 
Baptist,  all  set  the  ministers  of  after  generations  a 
good  example  in  this  line  of  ministerial  duty.  We 
venture  the  assertion  that  full  one-half  of  the 
declension  in  our  churches  is  caused  by  the  cringing, 
sycophantic,  cowardly  conduct  of  the  professed 
ambassadors  of  Christ, — mere  men-pleasers  ;  God- 
dishonoring  representatives  of  the  highest  calling  on 
earth.  "I  use  great  plainness  of  speech." 

If  all  the  evangelical  ministers  professing  the 
doctrine  of  salvation  by  faith  in  Jesus,  were  to  come 
out  in  the  spirit  of  the  Gospel,  and  make  an  on- 


SERMONS.  409 

slaught  on  the  powers  of  darkness,  as  they  now 
array  themselves  in  the  land,  Romanism  with  all  its 
idol  mummery  and  anti-Christ  priestcraft,  Universal- 
ism,  Unitarianism,  and  polished  skepticism  would  all 
evaporate  like  the  rank  vapors  before  the  rising  sun. 
We  have  a  few  who  have  the  moral  courage  to  enter 
the  lists,  and  declare  the  whole  counsel  of  God,  to  a 
lost  and  depraved  world  of  sinners.  We  have  a 
superabundance  of  lectures  and  essays  and  pretty 
nonsensical  gibberish,  without  point  and  effect  upon 
man's  moral  and  religious  being.  Some  think  these 
efforts  have  warmth.  But  the  vitality  is  only  gal 
vanic,  and  the  heat  that  of  a  corpse  warmed  by 
lying  in  the  sun.  No  vital  connection  with  Christ 
and  the  Spirit,  and  consequently  no  stir  of  the  soul ! 
The  demand  is  for  God-fearing,  Ckrist-loving,  and 
sinner-reclaiming,  reformation  preachers,  of  a  free 
and  full  Gospel,  and  that  now  come  "to  the  help  of 
the  Lord  against  the  mighty." 

2.  The  demand  is  also  for  all  the  people  of  God 
to  "come  to  the  help  of  the  Lord." 

All,  both  male  and  female,  can  find  something  to 
do,  and  that  to  good  advantage,  if  they  only  had 
the  disposition.  The  women  of  our  churches  have 
always  been  more  efficient,  according  to  their  sphere, 


410   FROM  THE  STAGE  COACH  TO  THE  PULPIT. 

than  the  men.  Here,  in  this  contest,  "Jael,  the  wife 
of  Heber,"  struck  the  final  blow : 

"Then  Jael,  Heber's  wife,  took  a  nail  of  the  tent, 
and  took  a  hammer  in  her  hand,  and  went  softly 
unto  him,  and  smote  the  nail  into  his  temples,  and 
fastened  it  into  the  ground :  for  he  was  fast  asleep 
and  weary.  So  he  died. 

"And,  behold,  as  Barak  pursued  Sisera,  Jael 
came  out  to  meet  him,  and  said  unto  him,  Come, 
and  I  will  shew  thee  the  man  whom  thou  seekest. 
And  when  he  came  into  her  tent,  behold,  Sisera  lay 
dead,  and  the  nail  was  in  his  temples. 

"So  God  subdued  on  that  day  Jabin,  the  king  of 
Canaan,  before  the  children  of  Israel. 

"And  the  hand  of  the  children  of  Israel  pros 
pered,  and  prevailed  against  Jabin,  the  king  of 
Canaan,  until  they  had  destroyed  Jabin,  king 
of  Canaan."  (Judges  iv.  21-24.) 

We  are  glad  to  say  here  that  the  movement  now 
being  made  by  the  women  of  our  churches  is  accom 
plishing  much  for  missions  abroad  and  at  home.  An 
evangelical  power  is  being  felt  that  will  save  the 
churches  from  the  dead  calm  of  a  stupid  formality. 
Deborah  was  compelled  to  be  in  the  vanguard, 
taking  the  place  of  the  man  who  should  have  been 


SERMONS.  411 

first.  (See  Judges  iv.  4-9.)  Let  it  be  the  prayer 
of  the  church  for  the  Lord  to  raise  up  Deborahs  all 
over  the  land.  Let  every  man  in  Zion  do  something 
to  advance  the  cause  of  our  common  Christianity. 
We  need  not  wait  for  the  colleges  and  theological 
schools  to  send  them  out.  If  the  laymen  of  the 
churches  would  only  take  this  thing  in  hand,  under 
the  all-controlling  influence  of  the  Spirit  of  God, 
our  whole  land  would  resound  with  the  voice  of 
singing  and  victory,  from  Maine  to  California,  from 
Florida  to  the  Canadas.  "We  need  Sunday  school 
men  and  women  who  have  vim  and  religious 
vivacity.  We  need  more  life  and  spiritual  power 
in  our  prayer  and  social  meetings  of  the  church. 
Exhortation  that  is  stirring  in  its  appeals  to  the 
impenitent,  when  do  we  hear?  The  world  is  God's 
workshop,  in  which  He  demands  help  of  every  kind 
to  carry  on  the  work  of  saving  sinners,  and  to  bring 
this  conflict  to  a  successful  close.  We  need  another 
Ehud  in  our  camp.  (See  Judges  iii.  14-22.) 

"  Soldiers  of  Christ,  arise  and  gird  your  armor  on, 

Strong  in  the  strength  which  God  supplies 
Through  His  eternal  Son." 

Let  us  call  your  attention, 

III.  To  the  evident  Results  of  this  Contest. 


412      FROM    THE    STAGE    COACH   TO    THE    PULPIT. 

1.  It  will  lead  each  individual  disciple  of  Jesus  to 
examine  his  motives  for  enlisting  in  this  campaign 
against  sin.  Quite  a  number  have  gone  into  the 
conflict  for  the  spoils,  as  their  fruits  do  show — 
loaves  and  fish  followers  of  Christ !  They  have 
joined  the  church  to  be  made  comfortable  and  to  be 
pleased  with  the  "brilliant  discourses"  of  some 
minister  who  has  the  reputation  of  being  an  eloquent 
pulpit  orator,  who  was  never  so  vulgar  as  to 
pronounce  that  awful  category  of  words,  "hell," 
"perdition,"  "damnation,"  "lost  souls,"  "judgment 
day,"  "day  of  wrath."  (  See  Ezekiel  xxxiii.  31,  32.) 

"And  they  come  unto  Thee  as  the  people  cometh, 
and  they  sit  before  Thee  as  my  people,  and  they 
hear  Thy  words,  but  they  will  not  do  them :  for 
with  their  mouth  they  show  much  love,  but  their 
heart  goeth  after  their  covetousness. 

"And,  lo,  Thou  art  unto  them  as  a  very  lovely 
song  of  one  that  hath  a  pleasant  voice,  and  can  play 
well  on  an  instrument :  for  they  hear  Thy  words, 
but  they  do  them  not." 

This  scene  is  acted  over  in  our  day,  to  all  intents. 
You  take  away  this  kind  of  bread  and  butter,  these 
sweet  meals  of  human  relish,  and  they  will  join  a 
club  of  infidels :  from  the  simple  fact  that  their 


SERMONS.  413 

motives  were  not  pure  when  they  enlisted.  But  if 
they  joined  the  cause  for  the  love  of  Christ,  then 
they  will  stand  by  in  storm  and  sunshine,  in  battle 
and  in  peace,  in  life  and  in  death. 

2.  Another  result  will  be  that   error  will  yield 
to  the  truth  when  wielded  in  the  name  of  Jehovah. 
It  is  irresistible  :     "For  the  Word  of  God  is  quick, 
and  powerful,    and    sharper    than    any   two-edged 
sword,  piercing  even   to   the   dividing   asunder    of 
soul  and  spirit,  and  of  the  joints  and  marrow,  and 
is  a  discerner  of  the  thoughts  and  intents  of  the 
heart." — (Heb.  iv.  12.)      I  do  not  believe  that  one 
instance  can  be  found  where  a  church  or  a  minister 
commenced  under  the  guiding  and  controlling  influ 
ences  of  the  Truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus,  but  sooner  or 
later    was    victorious    over    error,    and    made    the 
infidelity  and  skepticism  of  the  place  bite  the  dust, 
and  many  of  the  strongest  opposers  come  over  to 
the  side  of  Truth,  and  say,  in  the  deep  simplicity 
of  their  natures : 

"  I  yield,  I  yield; 
I  can  hold  out  no  longer." 

3.  It  must  result  in  uniting  the  people  of  God  in 
a  permanent  and  healthy  fellowship  for  each  other, 


414      FROM    THE    STAGE    COACH   TO   THE   PULPIT. 

Old  jealousies  and  heart-burnings  will  cease  and 
give  place  to  the  song : 

"From  whence  doth  this  union  arise, 

That  hatred  is  conquered  by  love  ? 
It  fastens  our  souls  in  such  ties 
As  distance  and  time  can't  remove." 

"Behold,  how  good  and  how  pleasant  it  is  for 
brethren  to  dwell  together  in  unity : 

"It  is  like  the  precious  ointment  upon  the  head, 
that  ran  down  upon  the  beard,  even  Aaron's  beard ; 
that  went  down  to  the  skirts  of  his  garments  ; 

"As  the  dew  of  Hermon,  and  as  the  dew  that 
descended  upon  the  mountains  of  ^lon :  for  there 
the  LORD  commanded  the  blessing,  even  for  life 
evermore."  (Psalm  cxxxiii.  1-3.) 

Pastor  and  people  will  not  only  work  in  harmony 
together,  but  a  growing  respect  for  each  other  will 
be  manifested  in  their  several  spheres  of  labor.  It 
is  only  in  this  sense  that  a  church  is  edified  in  the 
Truth  in  the  highest  acceptation  of  that  term, 
"edified  in  love."  Oh,  blessed  result  to  be  the 
people  enjoying  such  a  state  ! 

KEMARKS. — 1.  Brethren,  are  we  identified  in  this 
conflict,  and  doing  good  battle  for  the  Master  on 
Zion's  side?  God  has  said :  "Woe  to  them  that  are 


SERMONS.  415 

at  ease  in  Zion,  and  trust  in  the  mountain  of 
Samaria,  which  are  named  chief  of  the  nations,  to 
whom  the  house  of  Israel  came  !"  (Amos  vi.  1.) 

2.  The  day  of  final  celebration  of  all  the  victories 
achieved  for  Christ  is  soon  to  come.     What  honor 
able  mention  shall  be  made  of  you  and  of  me  in  that 
day?     Shall  it  be  like  that  of  Deborah  and  Barak? 
or  like  that  of  Meroz,  Jael  and  Sisera?     God  forbid 
the  latter ! 

3.  Victory  is  sure  to  all  those  who  enlist  under 
the  Captain  of  our  Salvation,  and  the  triumph  of 
the  saints  is  the  defeat  of  the  sinner.     Our  God  has 
said   that   no   weapon    formed    against    Zion    shall 
prosper.     He  is  not  wanting  in  means  to  carry  on 
the  conflict.     He  can  save  by  many  or  by  few  : 

"And  Jonathan  said  to  the  young  man  that  bare 
his  armour,  Come,  and  let  us  go  over  unto  the 
garrison  of  these  uncircumcised :  it  may  be  that  the 
LORD  will  work  for  us  :  for  there  is  no  restraint  to 
the  LORD  to  save  by  many  or  by  few. 

"And  his  armour-bearer  said  unto  him,  Do  all 
that  is  in  thy  heart :  turn  thee ;  behold,  I  am  with 
thee  according  to  thy  heart."  (I  Sam.  xiv.  6.) 

God  will  hasten  the  victory  in  His  time.  See 
that  ye  be  not  found  fighting  against  God  and  the 
Truth.  Amen. 


416      FROM    THE    STAGE    COACH   TO   THE    PULPIT. 


CHAPTER    XXXIII. 


All  Western  people  will  understand  what  is  meant 
by  the  above  names.  But,  for  the  instruction  of 
our  friends  in  the  East,  we  "rise  to  explain." 

A  Rackensack  is  a  dweller  in  Arkansas,  of  the 
loafer  order ;  and  a  Puke  is  a  rough  of  Missouri,  or 
a  "border  ruffian." 

I  was  called  to  visit  the  south-eastern  portion  of 
Kansas,  in  connection  with  a  young  minister  of  our 
denomination.  As  we  proceeded  on  our  journey, 
towards  evening  we  discovered  that  a  storm  was 
rising  in  the  north,  and  that  it  would  overtake  us 
before  we  could  cross  Sugar  Creek  to  a  settlement, 
where  we  expected  to  find  entertainment  for  the 
night  among  friends.  So  we  were  obliged  to  stop 
at  a  place  called  the  "Three  Stone  Houses,"  lying 
between  Fort  Scott  and  Ottawa. 

These  three  houses  were  rude  structures  of  stone, 
laid  up  without  mortar  or  any  visible  design.  One 
was  a  barn,  and  one  of  the  two  houses  proper  was 


'PUKES."  417 

unoccupied.  The  third  was  occupied  by  an  old 
woman  and  her  son,  the  husband  and  father  having 
been  killed  in  the  border  ruffian  war  of  1855-56. 

We  asked  for  entertainment,  and  the  old  lady  told 
us  we  could  stay ;  but  as  her  son  was  not  at  home, 
we  would  have  to  take  care  of  our  horses  ourselves, 
at  least  until  her  son  came.  He  was  expected  soon, 
if  he  was  not  delayed  by  the  storm.  We  complied 
with  the  conditions,  and  went  in  to  wait  for  supper. 
While  she  was  making  ready  our  coffee  and  bacon 
and  corn  cake,  she  looked  out  of  the  window  and 
exclaimed  : 

"Good  Lord,  have  mercy;  there  comes  them 
devils  of  Missouri  and  Arkansas.  The  Lord  only 
knows  what  I  shall  do  if  Davey  don't  come."  I 
inquired:  "Why,  what's  the  matter  with  them? 
They  won't  hurt  you,  I  think." 

In  they  came,  and  addressed  the  old  matron : 
"Wall,  old  woman,  have  you  got  any  whisky  in 
these  diggins?  If  you  have,  draw  et  out  quicker 
than  a  badger  can  hunt  his  hole."  The  old  lady 
replied  by  saying :  "We  don't  keep  it  for  anybody. 
Dave  did  have  a  little  he  got  for  snake  bites ;  but 
I  don't  know  where  he  keeps  it,  if  he  has  got  any." 
At  this  one  of  the  Pukes  said:  "Wall,  he  haint 


418       FROM    THE    STAGE    COACH    TO    THE    PULPIT. 

got  any  now — we  sucked  out  the  last  of  that  air 
stuff  when  we  were  here  last  week ;"  and  continued 
by  asking,  "Where  is  your  Davey?"  "He  has  been 
gone  all  day  at  Mapleton,  and  will  be  at  home,  if  he 
can  get  here,  before  the  storm  comes."  "Wall, 
there'll  be  a  storm  if  he  don't  bring  some  of  the 

critter,  for  we  want  to  liquidate  as  bad  as ." 

At  which  all  set  up  a  coarse  and  vulgar  laugh. 

A  Rackensack  bawled  out,  "Come,  old  gal,  stir 
your  dancing  pegs  and  get  us  something  to  eat,  for 
we  are  as  hungry  as  five  wolves,  and  can  eat  all 
there  is  in  this  shanty  as  quick  as  lightning  can 
strike  a  dry  cottonwood." 

She  replied  :  "  I  have  no  more  coffee  until  Dave 
gets  here,  as  I  have  just  made  all  I  have  for  these 
strangers,  and  a  scant  mite  for  them.  I  reckon  it 

o          ' 

will  be  mighty  weak  too,  but  it's  all  I  had  in  the 
house  until  Dave  gets  home.  There,  strangers,  set 
up  and  take  such  as  it  is."  Poor  coffee,  rusty  bacon, 
and  corn-cake  baked  on  the  stove,  as  griddle-cakes 
are  baked,  only  it  was  about  an  inch  thick,  browned 
on  both  sides,  and  looked  about  as  much  like  a 
No.  7  griddle  to  a  stove,  as  a  cake. 

As  we  sat  down  to  the  table,  I  said  to  my  young 
Reverend  companion  :  "Ask  a  blessing/'  He  shook 


419 

his  head,  and  said :  "I  will  join  with  you."  So  1 
gave  thanks  in  words  something  like  the  following : 
"Ever  blessed  Father  of  all  our  mercies,  sanctify 
this  sweet  portion  of  Thy  bounty,  to  our  nourish 
ment  and  comfort,  and  may  we  consider  the  heart 
and  hand  that  supply  us,  for  Christ's  sake,  Amen." 
And  the  old  woman  said  :  "Amen  ;  bless  the  Lord." 

At  that  moment,  a  voice  at  the  door  called  out : 
"mam,  come  and  take  the  things  in  quick."  Dave 
had  come.  Soon  she  returned  with  a  paper  of 
coffee,  a  dozen  of  candles,  and  three  boxes  of 
matches.  As  she  laid  them  on  the  bed  in  the  corner 
of  the  room,  one  of  the  Pukes  said:  "Wall,  hain't 
Dave  brought  any  whisky,  old  gal?"  She  answered  : 
"Not  as  I  can  see,  if  he  has,  it  is  in  his  saddle-bags." 

Up  jumped  three  of  them  and  they  went  to  the 
stone  shed  to  find  Dave,  or  what  they  most  desired, 
the  whisky.  Soon  the  storm  of  wind  and  rain  burst 
upon  the  house  with  great  fury  and  force,  and  in 
came  Dave  and  the  hunters  after  whisky,  in  great 
haste,  but  no  whisky  had  come. 

The  old  lady  at  once  set  herself  to  get  supper  for 
her  son  and  the  roughs. 

As  we  closed  our  frugal  meal,  the  young  Domine 
said  to  me  in  a  whisper:  "Brother  Stimson,  I  wish 
we  had  gone  on,  I  don't  feel  safe  here.  These  are  a 


420      FROM   THE    STAGE   COACH   TO   THE   PULPIT. 

bad  set  of  roughs,  and  there  is  no  knowing  what 
they  may  do  before  morning."  I  replied  in  a  low 
whisper:  "Well,  now  hold  up  your  head  and  stop 
your  looking  so  much  like  a  coward.  Be  a  man.  It 
will  only  make  the  matter  worse  if  they  see  your 
timidity." 

I  sat  down  by  the  stove  and  stirred  the  coffee  for 
the  old  woman,  and  then  ground  it  for  her  and  her 
guests,  while  she  baked  the  second  installment  of 
corn-cake,  and  fried  the  second  batch  of  bacon,  fill 
ing  the  whole  house  with  an  odor  similar  to  what  I 
have  enjoyed  in  a  soap-chandler's  establishment,  only 
more  so.  As  soon  as  I  had  finished  my  task  in  the 
cooking  department,  I  commenced  singing  a  hymn 
that  my  young  friend  could  have  joined  in  if  he 
would : 

"  Hark,  my  soul,  it  is  the  Lord, 

>Tis  the  Savior,  hear  his  Word ; 
Jesus  speaks,  and  speaks  to  thee : 
Say,  poor  sinner,  lovest  thou  me." 

All  was  as  still  and  quiet  as  a  funeral,  the  moment 
the  singing  commenced.  When  we  came  to  the 
third  stanza : 

"  Can  a  woman's  tender  care 

Cease  towards  the  child  she  bare? 
Yes,  she  may  forgetful  be; 
Yet  will  I  remember  thee." 


421 

One  large,  brawny  fellow  took  his  coat-tail  up 
and  wiped  his  eyes,  turning  his  face  away  from  the 
light.  By  this  time  supper  was  ready,  and  they 
gathered  around  the  table  to  supply  their  needs. 
They  sat  and  ate  their  meal  in  quietness,  speaking 
in  respectful  terms  to  the  old  lady. 

The  storm  had  now  so  abated  that  my  companion 
and  myself  stepped  out  of  the  door,  and  going  a 
little  way  from  the  house,  I  said :  "I  shall  call  on 
you  to  read  the  Bible,  and  I  want  you  to  read  the 
xviiith  chapter  of  Luke,  and  then  we  will  sing  again 
and  have  prayers.  The  old  lady  is  a  Christian,  I  am 
quite  confident,  and  one  of  these  roughs  has  a  tender 
spot  in  his  heart.  So  we  went  in  again.  I  spoke  to 
the  old  lady :  "Well,  madam,  shall  we  spend  a  little 
time  in  devotion,  before  we  lie  down  to  rest?  We 
all  need  protection,  and  it  is  well  for  us  to  commit 
ourselves  to  God  as  our  Father  and  Protector." 

"Oh  yes,  I  reckon  it  would  be  so  nice  ;  I  have  not 
heard  a  man  pray  since  my  poor  husband  was  shot 
in  1856.  We  then  had  a  man  here  to  help  bury  him 
out  on  the  prairie,  and  he  prayed." 

"Was  your  husband  shot,  madam?"  we  asked. 
wYes,  he  was  shot  while  we  were  milking  our  cows. 
It  was  in  the  time  of  our  troubles  here  on  the  bor- 


422      FROM   THE    STAGE    COACH   TO   THE    PULPIT. 

der.  Dave  was  then  a  little  boy,  and  we  had  a 
pretty  little  girl,  next  younger  than  Dave,  and  she 
never  got  over  the  fright  of  that  awful  time.  If  we 
could  a  got  back  to  Injiana,  we  should  a  gone,  but 
we  had  no  money,  and  all  our  oxen  had  been  stolen, 
and  here  Dave  and  I  have  stayed  ever  since." 

I  called  on  the  young  brother,  and  we  sang  again, 
and  then  I  asked  them  all  to  kneel  down  with  us 
while  I  made  supplication  to  the  Almighty  Father 
for  protecting  care  during  the  watches  of  the  night. 
There  was  no  more  loud  talking  or  profanity  there 
that  night.  As  we  stepped  out  of  the  door  while 
the  young  man  covered  the  floor  with  blankets  for 
our  beds,  I  heard  one  of  them  say  to  his  companion, 
as  they  stood  around  in  the  dark  :  "Wall,  Buck,  I 
should  think  that  old  'feller  was  John  Brown,  if  he 
wan't  hung  by  them  Virginians."  His  friend  replied  : 
w  It  may  be  him  arter  all.  He  was  a  slippery  old 
cuss,  and  it  may  be  he  gave  them  the  dodge,  or  got 
somebody  hung  in  his  place." 

There  was  no  more  said  about  whisky,  no  more 
swearing,  no  more  impertinent  talk  to  the  old  lady 
of  the  house.  All  was  as  quiet  as  a  first-class  hotel, 
except  the  loud  snoring.  At  daylight  my  young 
brother  and  myself  started  off  on  our  journey  again, 
driving  twelve  miles  before  breakfast. 


THE  IRISHMAN'S  STORY.  423 

THE  IRISHMAN'S  MIRACLE  OF  THE  LOAVES  AND 
FISHES. 

An  Irishman  in  his  travels  found  a  New  Testa 
ment,  and,  having  a  moment's  leisure,  sat  down  and 
read  the  Miracle  of  the  Loaves  and  Fishes,  after 
which  he  went  on  his  journey,  and,  meeting  a  coun 
tryman,  said,  "  Pat,  I  have  just  read  a  curious  book 
to-day."  "  An'  pfat  book  have  ye  read,  Mike?" 
"  Well,  it's  about  the  Lord  Jesus,  ye  know;  it  tells 
all  about  the  twelve  Apostles,  ye  know,  Pat.  How, 
wanst  upon  a  time  they  were  all  out  in  the  woods 
together,  and  the  Apostles  got  farefully  hungry,  ye 
know  :  and  the  Lord  Jesus  took  five  hundred  fishes 
and  seven  thousand  loaves  of  bread  and  blessed 
them — an'  the  twelve  Apostles  ate  them  all  up, 
sure."  "But  Mike,"  said  Pat,  "I  don't  see  any 
miracle."  "  Hunch  me  Honey,  isn't  it  a  miracle  they 
didn't  all  bust  afther  aitin  so  many  ?  " 

The  above  story  has  served  Father  Stimson  so 
well  on  such  a  variety  of  occasions,  it  well  deserves 
a  place  among  those  in  which  he  has  been  a  personal 
actor.  The  story  itself,  if  not  the  application  he 
made  of  it,  will  be  remembered  a  long  time  by 
those  who  laughed  over  his  inimitable  telling  of  it 
at  the  General  Association,  held  at  Topeka,  Kansas, 
October  1873. 


CONCLUSION. 

A   PERSONAL    SKETCH,    BY    THE    EDITOR. 

Father  STIMSON  is  a  character ;  every  man  is  not. 
He  isn't  just  like  anybody  else.  When  in  his 
presence,  you  are  at  once  satisfied  that  he  has  opin 
ions.  When  you  have  heard  him  talk,  either  in 
conversation  or  public  discourse,  you  are  more 
convinced  that  his  ideas  are  his  own,  and  that  he 
would  sacrifice  everything  rather  than  yield  them. 
He  is  not  obstinate.  Mere  human  opinions  on 
which  men  have  a  right  to  differ,  he  is  as  ready  to 
change  or  give  up  as  any  man  need  to  be.  Reli 
gious  principles  he  holds  as  inviolably  sacred.  No 
one  who  has  ever  heard  him  preach,  can  forget  the 
solemnity  with  which  he  speaks  of  these.  Rather 
than  yield  one  of  them,  he  would  suffer  the  loss  of 
all  things.  Bred  according  to  the  Scotch-Irish 
Presbyterian  rule,  and  educated  in  the  high  school 
of  Baptist  faith  and  practice,  it  is  not  to  be  won 
dered  at  that  he  has  the  grit  of  a  reformer.  He  has 
preached  the  gospel  the  Master  has  bidden  him, 
asking  no  questions,  and  neither  daring  nor  wishing 
to  make  the  least  modification.  He  couldn't  have 
been  anything  else  but  a  Baptist.  His  impatience  of 
human  authority  in  matters  of  conscience,  his  radical 
nature,  his  disregard  of  what  is  simply  time-honored, 
his  scorn  of  the  double-edged  weapons  of  ridicule 
and  custom,  his  loyalty  to  the  truth,  and  his  supreme 
love  of  his  Divine  Master,  have  qualified  him  for 
the  enjoyment  of  the  fellowship  and  service  of  the 
church  for  a  place  in  which  he  made  such  a  struggle 
in  early  life.  Certainly  in  these  qualities  he  is  a 
representative  Baptist.  • 


PERSONAL    SKETCH.  425 

If  Father  STIMSON  should  find  a  weak  Baptist 
church  in  a  place,  with  little  or  no  "social  standing," 
he  would  go  to  work  at  once  to  make  it  stronger. 
He  would  do  the  same  thing  if  he  were  not  a  min 
ister.  If  there  were  no  church  in  the  place,  he 
would  set  himself  to  the  delightful  task  of  prepar 
ing  a  people,  by  Divine  help,  for  church  fellowship. 

All  must  respect  the  man  who,  without  the 
advantages  of  an  education,  rises  superior  to  the 
majority — the  great  majority — of  those  who  are 
educated.  College-bred  men  often  leave  school  so 
conscious  of  their  advantages  over  uneducated  men 
as  to  make  no  habitual  efforts  afterwards  to  main 
tain  their  advantages.  Those  not  so  favored  in 
youth,  often  go  through  life  with  the  spur  of  con 
scious  disadvantage.  By  this  they  are  stimulated  to 
great  and  constant  effort  for  self  improvement,  and 
soon  outstrip  those  who  were  far  in  advance  to  begin 
with — hare  and  tortoise.  Father  STIMSON  has  accom 
plished  more  in  the  world  for  God  and  humanity 
than  is  the  average  work  of  a  College  and  Seminary 
educated  minister. 

Two  or  three  of  the  natural  qualities  that  have 
helped  him  in  his  otherwise  unassisted  work  deserve 
special  mention.  First,  his  memory.  This  is 
remarkable.  It's  not  a  memory  for  one  class  of 
subjects  alone,  but  for  facts  and  principles,  dates, 
names  and  words,  and  for  one  as  much  as  for 
another.  Memory  is  as  distinguishing  a  faculty  as 
man  possesses.  It  gives  a  man  more  aid  in  public 
life  than  any  other  faculty,  unless  it  be  the  gift  of 
superior  speech.  It  has  helped  him  more  than  any 
one  knows,  except  himself,  in  all  his  public  work. 
It  has  given  him  a  great  command  of  Scripture  and 


426   FROM  THE  STAGE  COACH  TO  THE  PULPIT. 

hymn  quotations  in  the  .pulpit  and  prayer-meeting. 
It  has  given  him  the  apt  story  in  public  addresses 
and  private  conversation.  It  has  given  him  great 
advantage  in  argument,  supplying  him  with  the 
needed  quotations  from  authors.  It  has  been  abso 
lutely  indispensable  in  the  preparation  of  this 
auto-biography.  With  the  previously -prepared 
manuscript  all  lost  in  Chicago,  he  had  to  begin 
again,  and  after  two  years  had  passed.  The  facil 
ity  with  which  he  remembered  dates  and  facts  and 
names  and  conversations,  and  dashed  them  down 
with  his  pencil,  is  known  to  at  least  one  other 
person.  I  shall  always  have  one  proof  that  I  am 
hot  lazy  in  the  speed  with  which  my  pen  followed 
his  pencil. 

His  tact  in  reply  to  grave  argument  or  witty 
personal  assault,  is  another  trait  of  mind  that  will 
be  remembered  as  long  as  he  is  remembered.  An 
Irishman  by  parentage,  he  is  never  wanting  in  quick 
repartee  and  apt  anecdote  most  forcibly  told.  He 
has  an  almost  exhaustless  fund  of  humor  and  anec 
dote.  If  argument  would  not  serve  his  purpose 
when  attacked  or  making  a  point,  some  quaint 
saying  of  somebody's  or  some  resistless  story  would 
always  come  in  at  the  right  moment,  and  he  would 
carry  off  the  laurels.  He  is  the  soul  of  any  company 
in  which  he  feels  at  home.  As  to  others,  his  wit 
makes  them  feel  at  home.  No  sketch  of  him  would 
have  been  complete  without  a  chapter  of  stories  and 
jokes. 

He  is  a  man  of  large  practical  common  sense. 
He  despises  shams.  He  sees  the  best  way  out  of  a 
tight  place  as  soon  as  he  is  in  it.  His  advice  to 
people  similarly  situated  is  of  great  value.  His 


PERSONAL    SKETCH.  427 

common  sense  doesn't  desert  him  when  he  comes  to 
matters  of  religion.  He  reasons  upon  Christianity 
as  he  would  on  any  subject  requiring  the  use  of 
reason,  but  never  without  making  the  broad  distinc 
tion  that  exists  between  it  and  all  other  forms  of 
religion. 

He  has  a  fair  share  of  originality  of  thought  and 
expression.  His  imagination,  too,  is  more  than 
ordinary.  The  happy  combination  of  these  qualities 
and  others,  and  the  conscientious  use  of  them  through 
public  life,  have  made  him  a  power  in  the  denom 
ination. 

He  belongs  to  a  race  of  men  that  is  rapidly  passing 
away.  The  places  that  now  know  them  will  soon 
know  them  no  more.  The  need  of  pioneer  men — 
especially  of  the  angular,  eccentric,  original,  self- 
made  stamp  to  which  he  belongs — is  fast  ceasing  to 
exist.  They  have  nobly  done  a  great  work,  a  work 
smoother  men  could  not  have  done.  Peace  to 
their  ashes.  Peaceful  years  to  those  who  remain 
among  us. 


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